Prosopis juliflora
Prosopis juliflora (, Aippia Wayuunaiki and long-thorn kiawe in Hawaii) is a shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, a kind of mesquite. It is native to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. It has become established as an invasive weed in Africa, Asia, Australia and elsewhere. It is a contributing factor to continuing transmission of malaria, especially during dry periods when sugar sources from native plants are largely unavailable to mosquitoes. Description. Growing to a height of up to , "P. juliflora" has a trunk diameter of up to . Its leaves are deciduous, geminate-pinnate, light green , with 12 to 20 leaflets. Flowers appear shortly after leaf development. The flowers are in long green-yellow cylindrical spikes, which occur in clusters of 2 to 5 at the ends of branches. Pods are long and contain between 10 and 30 seeds per pod. A mature plant can produce hundreds of thousands of seeds. Seeds remain viable for up to 10 years. The tree reproduces solely by way of seeds, not vegetatively. Seeds are spread by cattle and other animals, which consume the seed pods and spread the seeds in their droppings. Its roots are able to grow to  a great depth in search of water: in 1960, they were discovered at a depth of at an open-pit mine near Tucson, Arizona, putting them among the deepest known roots. The tree is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka in the 19th century, where it is now known as "vanni-andara", or "katu andara" in Sinhala. It is claimed that "P. juliflora" existed and was recognised even as a holy tree in ancient India, but this is most likely a confusion with "Prosopis cineraria". The tree is believed to have existed in the Vanni and Mannar regions  for a long time. This species has thorns in pairs at the nodes. The species has variable thorniness, with nearly thornless individuals appearing occasionally. In the western extent of its range in Ecuador and Peru, "Prosopis juliflora" readily hybridises with "Prosopis pallida" and can be difficult to distinguish from this similar species or their interspecific hybrid strains. Uses. The sweet pods are edible and nutritious, and have been a traditional source of food for indigenous peoples in Peru, Chile and California. Pods were once chewed during long journeys to stave off thirst. They can be eaten raw, boiled, stored underground , or fermented to make a mildly alcoholic beverage. Prior to Spanish colonization, the Guaraní people of South America brewed a beer from mashed Carob pods and wild honey. The species' uses also include forage, wood and environmental management. The plant possesses an unusual amount of the flavanol (-)-mesquitol in its heartwood. They can be dried and ground into flour to make bread. In the Macará Canton of Ecuador, "Prosopis juliflora" can be found in dry forests where it is one of the species most frequently harvested for multiple forest products. Invasive species. "Prosopis juliflora" has become an invasive weed in  several countries where it was introduced. It is considered a noxious invader in Ethiopia, Hawaii, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Kenya, the Middle East, India, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Senegal, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. It is also a major weed in the southwestern United States. It is hard and expensive to remove as the plant can regenerate from the roots. In Australia, mesquite has colonized more than 800,000 hectares of arable land, having severe economic and environmental impacts. With its thorns and many low branches it forms impenetrable thickets which prevent cattle from accessing watering holes, etc. It also takes over pastoral  grasslands and uses scarce water. Livestock which consume excessive amounts of seed pods are poisoned due to neurotoxic alkaloids. It causes land erosion due to the loss of the grasslands that are habitats for native plants and animals. It also provides shelter for feral animals such as pigs and cats. In the Afar Region in Ethiopia, where the mesquite was introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s, its aggressive growth leads to a monoculture, denying native plants water and sunlight, and not providing food for native animals and cattle. The regional government with the non-governmental organisation FARM-Africa  are looking for ways to commercialize the tree's wood, but pastoralists who call it the "Devil Tree" insist that "P. juliflora" be eradicated. In Sri Lanka this mesquite was planted in the 1950s near Hambantota as a shade and erosion control tree. It then invaded the grasslands in and around Hambantota and the Bundala National Park, causing similar problems as in Australia and Ethiopia. This mesquite "Prosopis juliflora" native to Central and South America, is also known as "katu andara". It was introduced in 1880 and has become a serious problem as an invasive species. In the Indian state  of Tamil Nadu, "Prosopis juliflora" has emerged as an invasive species. The plant was first introduced by the British in 1877 as part of an effort to plant it along the arid tracts of Southern India. During the 1960s the state government of Tamil Nadu encouraged the planting of "Prosopis juliflora" to overcome the shortage of firewood faced by the state at the time, it was also grown as a fence to protect agricultural fields from animals. In 2017, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court ordered the state government to eradicate the species from the state. In 2022 , unsatisfied with the state government, the Madras High Court directed the government to immediately frame a policy to eradicate the plant. In Europe, "Prosopis juliflora" is included since 2019 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list). This implies that this species cannot be imported, cultivated, transported, commercialized, planted, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union. Nomenclature. Vernacular names. "Prosopis juliflora" has a wide range of vernacular names, although no widely used English one except for "mesquite", which is used for several species of "Prosopis". It is called  bayahonda blanca in Spanish, "bayarone Français" in French, and "bayawonn" in Creole. Other similar names are also used, including "bayahonde", "bayahonda" and "bayarone", but these may also refer to any other Neotropical member of the genus "Prosopis". The tree is known by a range of other names in various parts of the world, including "algarrobe", "cambrón", "cashaw", "épinard", "mesquite", "mostrenco", or "mathenge". Many of the less-specific names are because over large parts of its range, it is the most familiar and common species of "Prosopis", and thus to locals simply "the" "bayahonde", "algarrobe", etc. "Velvet mesquite" is sometimes given  as an English name, but properly refers to a different species, "Prosopis velutina". Names in and around Indian Subcontinent, where the species is widely used for firewood and to make barriers, often compare it to similar trees and note its introduced status; thus in Hindi it is called "angaraji babul", "Kabuli kikar", "vilayati babul", "vilayati khejra" or "vilayati kikar". The "angaraji" and "vilayati" names mean they were introduced by Europeans, while "Kabuli kikar" (or "keekar") means "Kabul acacia"; "babul" specifically refers to "Acacia nilotica" and "khejra" (or "khejri") to "Prosopis cineraria", both of which are native to South Asia.In  Maharashtra it is known as "Katkali (काटकळी)". In Gujarati it is called "gando baval" (ગાંડો બાવળ- literally translating to "the mad tree") and in Marwari, "baavlia". In Kannada it is known as "Ballaari Jaali" meaning "Jaali", local name, abundant in and around Bellary district. In Tamil Nadu, in Tamil language it is known as (சீமைக்கருவேலை), which can be transliterated as (சீமை) "foreign (or non-native)" (கரு) "black" (வேலி) "fence". Another Tamil name is (வேலிகாத்தான்), from (வேலி) "fence" and (காத்தான்) "protector", for its use to make spiny barriers. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in the Telugu language it is known as  mulla tumma (ముల్ల తుమ్మ),"sarkar tumma","chilla chettu","Japan Tumma Chettu", "Seema Jaali", or "Kampa Chettu." In Malayalam, it is known as "Mullan." A vernacular. The Somali name is 'Garan-waa' which means 'the unknown'. In the Wayuu language, spoken on the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and Venezuela, it is called "trupillo" or "turpío". In Kenya it is called "Mathenge". Synonyms. This plant has been described under a number of now-invalid scientific names: "Prosopis chilensis" was sometimes considered to belong here too, but it is usually considered a good species these days. Several other authors misapplied "P. chilensis" to Honey  Mesquite ("P. glandulosa").