Two important species of mesquite have provided food in the Chihuahuan Desert for centuries. The Honey Mesquite and the Screwbean Mesquite, or Tornillo (the word for screw in Spanish), make nutritious and sweet bean pods. These were available in the dry fall season and could be easily stored through the winter. These mesquite pods have twice as much sugar as sugar cane and are rich in calcium, iron, and other minerals. The sweetness varies from tree to tree depending on the growing conditions. If you find a sweet tree, you can chew the raw pod and spit out the fibrous pulp.
The Native Americans boiled the green pods to produce a nutritious
syrup and ground the ripe pods into meal. However, many plants in the desert are
poisonous, and in some cases, like the chile and tomato, one part is a good food
source, but another part of the plant is toxic. We don't recommend you try munching
on any plant without knowing for sure what it is and whether it's friend or
foe.
Contributor: Elaine Hampton, College of Education, University of Texas at El Paso.
Desert Diary is a joint production of the Centennial Museum and KTEP National Public Radio at the University of Texas at El Paso.