Green and Ripe Mesquite Pods
-Eamon Decker
11 Southwest Highways & Fields
In addition to the edible pods, Mesquites have many medicinal uses. Native Americans used the tree to treat skin and eye conditions, along with many other ailments. Mesquite stems can be used to treat fever, and the bark can treat fever, bladder infection and measles. Mesquite pods treat sunburn, and can be made into eyewashes, as well as a drink to
help with a sore throat or insect
stings. The gum extracted from
the trunk is the part used the most
for medicinal purposes. It can treat
eye infections, skin sores, burns,
chapped lips or fingers, sunburn,
diarrhea, system cleansing, lice,
sore throat, cough, laryngitis,
fever reduction, hemorrhoids, and
more.
If the mesquite doesn't sound
useful already, then I'll tell you
that it's also good for the soil.
while many plants deplete the
nitrogen in the soil, the mesquite,
being a legume returns nitrogen
back into the soil, enriching it. The mesquite is an iconic tree of Texas and the southwest, and now you know how useful it is. Anyone up for some mesquite bread?
-Eamon Decker
An excellent article on Mesquite:
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/nature/images/mesquite.html
Sources:
http://medplant.nmsu.edu/mesquite4.shtm
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PRGL2
http://www.texasalmanac.com/topics/science/ubiquitous-mesquite#
http://www.winrock.org/fnrm/factnet/factpub/FACTSH/P_glandulosa.html
Southwest Plants: Honey Mesquite