 Our seeds today don’t grow in the Southwest.
(Credit for public domain photograph will be given in the answer post.)
The plant is known for its spectacular flowers.
Do you recognize what plant these seeds are from? If you choose to, please leave a comment with your ideas.
Mystery Seed answers and new Mystery Seeds are posted on Tuesdays.
Kathy recognized our mystery seeds from last week were from a mesquite tree, Prosopis sp.
Several types of mesquite trees grow in Arizona. We’ve already covered the screwbean mesquite and the honey mesquite in previous posts. Today we’re going to take a look at the native velvet mesquite, Prosopis velutina, and the Chilean mesquite, Prosopis chilensis. We are covering them at the same time because, although there are differences between the two species, they hybridize and the exact parentage of any one tree may be difficult to figure out.
The Chilean mesquite is fast growing in areas with irrigation.
They have an open, spreading canopy, which is their appeal for landscapes. On the down side, the roots of Chilean mesquites are often shallow and the trees tend to tip over readily during storms.
In contrast, the velvet mesquite has a deep tap root as well as more compact foliage. They tend to reach maturity more slowly, especially in areas without added water. In nature, velvet mesquites grow densely along desert rivers, forming what are called mesquite bosques.
The flowers are yellow-green spikes, up to four inches long. Velvet mesquites flower in the spring.
Once pollinated, the seed pods begin to form.
Mesquite seeds can be difficult to see because they are encased in a tough pod and an internal case.
(Public domain photograph of velvet mesquite seeds from Wikimedia)
Once the pods and cases are removed, the seeds are typical brown, shiny legumes.
The pods are consumed by a number of different animals, including coyotes. People also harvest the pods and grind them into a sweet flour for baking. The Desert Harvesters website is full of information about gathering the pods and processing mesquite flour, as well as information about the different species of mesquite.
Have you ever eaten foods made from mesquite flour? What is your favorite recipe?
National Moth Week is coming up July 18-26, 2015. To get ready, let’s take a look a few of the different kinds of moths and learn how to recognize them.
There are some 11,000 species of moth in North America, grouped into many families.
1. Family Saturniidae – Wild or Giant Silkworm Moths
The giant silkworm moths are some of the largest moths. They have wide, thick bodies, like a person’s thumb.
Examples:
The rosy maple moth exhibits the bright colors and thick body characteristic of this group.
The atlas moth also has a particularly thick body. Other kinds of saturniids include luna moths, cercropia moths, and Polyphemus moths.
2. Family Sphingidae – called sphinx moths, hawk moths or hummingbird moths
Sphinx moths are also relatively large, but both their wings and abdomen are more pointed.
The wings and head form a triangle when a sphinx moth is at rest.
This is a widespread and common species, the white-lined sphinx moth.
The rustic sphinx is another example.
Tobacco and tomato hornworm adults are also sphinx moths.
3. Family Erebidae -Tussock and Tiger moths
Note:Â the tussock and tiger moths are a diverse group and they names are in flux. In the past, the tiger moths belonged to a separate family, the Arctiidae.
The most consistent characteristic of this family is that they hold their hairy front legs outstretched when they are at rest. Many of the subfamilies have striped or spotted wings.
This is a hickory tussock moth.
The Isabella tiger moth, the adult of the woolly bear caterpillar, belongs to this group.
4. Family Pterophoridae – plume moths
Although the members of this group are much smaller than the families above, they are very distinct because the moths hold their thin wings outstretched like an airplane.
The typical T-shaped plum moth looks like this.
Next week we will continue with more moth families.
What is your favorite kind of moth?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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