Seedpods - raw or cooked[277 ]. The immature pods can be harvested while still green and consumed raw as snacks[277 ]. Mature pods, collected in the late summer, were traditionally pounded toa fine flour using stone pestles. The meal was set out to dry and then stored for later use. This powder was mixed with other foods or made into small cakes[277 ]. The dark tan seedpod is tightly coiled into a spiral around 3 - 5cm long, and appears in pod clusters of 2 to 15. The seeds are very small, around 3mm long[277 ]. Screwbean mesquite (Prosopis pubescens) is one of the most distinctive mesquites of the American Southwest, easily recognized by its twisted, corkscrew-like pods. Like other mesquites, its flowers, pods, and seeds are edible after processing, but screwbean differs significantly in flavor, texture, and handling. The flowers, produced in dense yellow catkins during spring and summer, are edible fresh or cooked. They taste similar to alfalfa with a mild legume accent, and can be toasted, simmered into soups, or used to collect pollen. While not sweet, they are nutritious and easy to gather in quantity. The immature pods are green, fibrous, and mildly flavored, with some bitterness. They can be eaten raw or cooked, though their food value is limited compared to that of mature pods. The mature screwbean pods are highly important. Twisted into tight spirals, they enclose 10–30 tan beans immersed in sticky, sweet pulp. Unlike other mesquites, the bean casings of screwbean split easily when pounded, making them far easier to process. Several preparation methods were traditional: 1. Pounded and boiled pods yield a sweet, wholesome gruel. 2. Pounded, sifted, and ground pods produce mesquite flour, though some sugars are lost with the fibrous debris. 3. Boiled and filtered pods make a rich, sweet broth that can be further reduced into mesquite syrup.The flavor of screwbean pods is excellent—sweet and nutty, without the hay-like or alfalfa overtones of other mesquites. Pods can remain on the trees for years and still retain their sweetness. The beans themselves are edible once thoroughly boiled, though they are best used as part of whole-pod processing rather than eaten alone [2-3].

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The fibrous bark can be made into a dressing for wounds[277 ]. A decoction of the bark was used as a wash on fresh wounds then the dried and powdered bark was applied to the wound over the next few days[277 ]. A tea made from the roots has been used to treat problems with the menstrual cycle[277 ]. A gummy exudate sometimes found on the bark can be soaked in water and the resulting liquid used as eyewash[277 ].

Agroforestry Uses: The pollen is said to be toxic to honeybees[277 ]. This is one of several mesquite species that make excellent bee forage, the bees harvesting both nectar and pollen. The flowers are also a source of nectar for butterflies[1050 ]. Nitrogen Fixer. Other Uses: The wood is used traditionally for construction, posts etc[277 ]. The wood is an important fuel in its native range[491 ]. The root wood makes a good fuel for cooking[277 ].

Special Uses