Top

Scientific Name
Synonyms
Family
Common Names
Origin
Naturalised Distribution
Habitat
Habit
Distinguishing Features
Stems and Leaves
Flowers and Fruit
Reproduction and Dispersal
Environmental Impact
Legislation
Management
Similar Species
Print Fact Sheet
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYXZ

Click on images to enlarge

large infestation (Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, USGS)

infestation (Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, USGS)

habit (Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, USGS)

habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

mature trunk (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

older branch with spines (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

younger branch with spines (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

twice-compound leaf (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

leaf undersides (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

elongated flower cluster (Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, USGS)

close-up of flowers (Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, USGS)

immature and mature fruit (Photo: Forest and Kim Starr, USGS)

Prosopis pallida

Scientific Name

Prosopis pallida (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Kunth

Synonyms

Acacia pallida Willd.
Mimosa pallida Poir.
Prosopis limensis Benth.

Family

Fabaceae: sub-family Mimosoideae (New South Wales)
Leguminosae (South Australia)
Mimosaceae (Queensland, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)

Common Names

algaroba, algarrobo, Cloncurry prickle bush, kiawe, mesquite

Origin

Native to the north-western parts of South America (i.e. Peru, Columbia and Ecuador).

Naturalised Distribution

This species is widespread throughout northern Australia, particularly in inland regions. It is most common in the north-western areas of Queensland and in the central regions of the Northern Territory. Scattered populations occur in southern and central Queensland, inland northern New South Wales, coastal northern Western Australia and other parts of the Northern Territory.

Also naturalised in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Hawaii, the Marquesas, India, southern Africa and New Guinea.

Habitat

Algaroba (Prosopis pallida) is mostly found in wetter habitats within semi-arid and arid environments (i.e. along creeks, in gullies, in intermittent stream-beds, etc.). It also grows along roadsides, in pastures, in open woodlands and near habitation.

Habit

A spiny tree usually growing less than 10 m tall, but occasionally reaching up to 15 m in height.

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The bark of older branches is usually rough, fissured, and grey, brown or blackish in colour. Younger branches have smooth bark, are green or reddish in colour, and often have a zig-zagging pattern to their growth. They are sometimes sparsely hairy (i.e. puberulent), but generally become hairless (i.e. glabrous) with age. The stems are almost always armed with a pair of spines (3-17 mm long) just above each leaf fork (i.e. axil).

The leaves are alternately arranged, twice-compound (i.e. bipinnate), and fern-like in appearance. They are borne on finely hairy stalks (i.e. puberulous petioles) 8-20 mm long and usually have two to four pairs of branchlets (i.e. pinnae). Each branchlet (i.e. pinna) is 2-5 cm long and bears 7-15 pairs of oblong to slightly elongated leaflets (i.e. pinnules). These leaflets (2-10 mm long and 1.4-4 mm wide) are generally about 2-4 times longer than they are broad. They are usually somewhat hairy (i.e. pubescent) on both sides and have weakly pointed or rounded tips (i.e. acute or obtuse apices).

Flowers and Fruit

The flowers are arranged in elongated, cylindrical, clusters (i.e. racemes). These flower clusters (8-12 cm long) are borne on stalks (i.e. peduncles) 4-30 mm long and two to five of them can arise from a single leaf fork (i.e. axil). The small flowers are greenish, whitish, cream or more commonly yellowish in colour. They consist of five inconspicuous sepals (0.5-1 mm long) that are joined into a short tube (i.e. calyx tube), five small petals (1.5-3 mm long) that are joined together at the base, and 10 prominent stamens (5-6 mm long). Flowering occurs mostly during summer.

The fruit is a large elongated pod (6-25 cm long and 7-15 mm wide) that often has slight constrictions between each of the seeds. These pods are hairless (i.e. glabrous) and turn from green to yellowish-brown as they mature. They contain 5-20 hard seeds that are embedded in a sugary pulp. The seeds (4-7 mm long and 2.5-5 mm wide) are oval (i.e. ellipsoid) in shape, glossy in appearance, and brown or reddish-brown in colour.

Reproduction and Dispersal

Algaroba (Prosopis pallida) reproduces mainly by seed, however existing stands can become more dense through suckering and layering.

Seeds are most commonly dispersed after being eaten by animals. They are also spread by floodwaters, in mud attached to vehicles and machinery, and by other human activities.

Environmental Impact

Algaroba (Prosopis pallida) is regarded as a significant environmental weed in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and as apotential environmental weed or "sleeper weed" in other parts of Australia. This species is actively managed by community groups in Queensland and the mesquites (Prosopis spp.), as a group, are also one of the 20 Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) in Australia.

Legislation

This species is declared under legislation in the following states and territories:

Note: All of these declarations, except those for Queensland, apply to all mesquite species (Prosopis spp.).

Management

For information on the management of this species see the following resources:

Similar Species

It is very difficult to distinguish between individual mesquite species (Prosopis spp.), as hybrids and intermediates between them often occur in the field. However, the following general differences are apparent between the four main species present in Australia:

The mesquites (Prosopis spp.) can also be confused with several other woody weeds, including prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica), mimosa bush (Acacia farnesiana) and parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata). All of these species have spines, twice-compound (i.e. bipinnate) leaves, yellow flowers and elongated seed pods. However, algaroba (Prosopis pallida) can be distinguished from these species by its elongated cylindrical flower clusters. Prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica ) can also be distinguished by its strongly constricted seed pods, mimosa bush (Acacia farnesiana) by its shorter (less than 6 cm long) pods, and parkinsonia (Parkinsonia aculeata) by its greenish-coloured stems and drooping strap-like leaves.

See the the Biosecurity Queensland Fact Sheet on Identification of Prickle Bushes for more help with distinguishing between some of these species.