Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.

Synonyms

Mimosa juliflora Sw.
Neltuma juliflora (Sw.) Raf.
Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. var. juliflora

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

ironwood, mesquite

Origin

Native to Mexico, Central America (i.e. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) and northern South America (i.e. Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador).

Naturalised Distribution

This species is scattered in some parts of Australia. It has been recorded in northern Queensland, in the coastal districts of western Western Australia and in some parts of South Australia.

Also naturalised overseas in Brazil, the Caribbean, Africa, western Asia (i.e. Iraq), the Indian Sub-continent (i.e. Pakistan and India) and Hawaii.

Notes

Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora ) is regarded as an environmental weed in Queensland and Western Australia, and as a potential environmental weed or "sleeper weed" in many other parts of Australia. The mesquites (Prosopis spp.) are also one of the 20 Weeds of National Significance (WoNS) in Australia.