Prosopis elata (Burkart) Burkart
(=P. campestris var. elata)
Fabaceae
Mimosoideae
NOTE: Only four seeds of Prosopis elata were available for examination. Therefore, the description and images in this fact sheet may not be representative of this species’ seeds.
mesquite
Pods linear, mostly straight, 6–11 cm long, 6–8 mm wide, ca. 3 mm thick. Short-stipitate, apex acuminate, margins undulate, sutures prominent, ridge-like. Yellowish- to greenish-brown, sometimes tinged with violet, longitudinal striate veins relatively distinct; seed chambers (articles) 10–14, with transverse constrictions visible between them. Endocarp segments quadrate or transversely rectangular, boney, closed, 6–8 mm long, 7–8 mm wide, 3–4.5 mm thick; mesocarp scarce, fleshy, acid. Seeds oriented longitudinally.
Seeds elliptic, obovate, or subrhombic in outline, 4.5–6 mm long, 3.2–4 mm wide, 1.7–2.5 mm thick, flattened along the edges, with an umbo, elliptic to spindle shaped in cross section. Lens +/– flush, dark, nearly same color as testa.
Prosopis campestris Griseb. (Pod is similar.)
Prosopis humilis Gillies ex Hook. & Arn. (Pod is similar.)
Argentina, Paraguay
forms open woods of the savanna type
Prosopis elata is a spiny shrub, 0.6–4 m tall. The pods are inedible due to their acidity. The seeds are thus most likely not dispersed by animals.