http://www.desertusa.com/mag06/may/mesquite.html
"Mesquites as Botanical Friends
If mesquites have arrived as intruders in the view of cattlemen of the Southwest, they have, by contrast, long been a welcome presence in the larders, livestock feed bins, workshops, gardens and medicine cabinets in the perspective of many desert residents. "
I didn't copy the rest of the paragraphs concerning the various uses of Mesquite under that heading, but if they grow in your area it's worth hitting the link to read the rest of it. I never new they had much use other than grilling with the wood. I've also thrown the beans on the grill to add the flavor instead of the wood. And, uh, I've used the baby mesquite or specifically the thorns off of it for all kinds of things, blowgun darts being the most often used. The thorns they show on that page are actually kinda small for the mature trees around here.
