A: Thornless mesquite trees are a South American hybrid also known as the Chilean mesquite. The mature size of this tree is approximately 30 feet by 30 feet and that is only the above-ground size.

Mesquite trees are very efficient at extracting water from soils and, consequently, outcompete many grasses and other plants. However, the mesquite’s root system also makes it drought resistant.

Neighbors from the El Gheko neighborhood helped a woman pick up a massive mesquite tree after it was damaged by hail and heavy winds.

Mesquite trees are very efficient at extracting water from soils and, consequently, outcompete many grasses and other plants. However, the mesquite’s root system also makes it drought resistant.

The mesquite twig girdler (Oncideres rhodostica), a long-horned beetle, is nature’s way of pruning your mesquite tree. Courtesy of Katja Schulz By Peter L. Warren Special to the Arizona Daily Star ...

The mesquite trees’ seed pods can be ground into a sweet, protein-rich flour used to make bread, cookies and pancakes.

The mesquite trees’ seed pods can be ground into a sweet, protein-rich flour used to make bread, cookies, and pancakes. Merchant, who works at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, sees ...

The mesquite pods will be collected via a “passive harvesting” system that catches the pods that fall off the tree in a net affixed to its base.

Kissing under the mistletoe is a well-known holiday tradition, but mistletoe also is a parasitic plant that favors mesquite trees in San Antonio.

Mesquite coffee, made from the seedpods of the thorny mesquite tree, may become the Northern Cape’s next big discovery.