''Prosopis nigra'' (synonym ''Prosopis algarrobilla'') is a

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

leguminous A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock for ...

tree species that inhabits the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...

ecoregion (in particular, the transition zone between the Wet Chaco and the Southern Chaco), in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

. It is known as ''algarrobo negro'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, which means "black carob tree" (the Spanish settlers gave it that name, as they did with many other species of genus ''

Prosopis ''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...

'', because of its similarity to the European

carob tree The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscap ...

). It is also variously called ''algarrobo dulce'', ''algarrobo morado'' and ''algarrobo amarillo'' ("sweet", "purple" and "yellow" carob tree, respectively). The tree blossoms in September and October, and gives fruit from November to March. It grows together with the ''vinalillo'' tree ('' Prosopis vinalillo'') and under the tops of the palm tree ''Copernicia alba''. Like the other species of this genus, it tolerates arid climate, but can also survive in flooded ground for a long time. The

heartwood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

is dark brown and very heavy, considered noble by local carpenters, also weather resistant, it presents streaks.

Usage

''Algarrobo negro'' wood is used in making furniture and barrels. High in

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'' ...

, it has been employed for leather tanning since the colonial era. Its fruit, called an ''algarroba'', is a

dehiscent Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part; structures that op ...

-type pod, with a sweet, starchy paste inside, milled to make

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

, and

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

to make an alcoholic beverage.

Sources

Commercial timbers: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval
- H. G. Richter and M. J. Dallwitz
Catálogo Web de especies forestales
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Asunción (in Spanish)

References

Data deficient plants Drought-tolerant trees Edible legumes nigra Plants described in 1882 Trees of Argentina {{Mimosoideae-stub