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This Honey Mesquite was growing on the side of an arroyo with many branches pointed down into the arroyo. It was identified by a red color that comes through the grey bark and varying textures. At the base of the Honey Mesquite, many trunks come out in a bunch and have rough, broken bark. The branches have a semi-smooth texture. New branches/twigs have a very smooth texture and are more red-brown in color than the rest of the plant. This is obvious at this time of year when no leaves are present. Although many spines have seem to have fallen, the remaining spines on the branches are .5 to 3 inch white thorns with a very sharp tip. Long seed pods were present, though at this time of year there were very few and they were dried up. The seed pods that fell upon the light brown soil had small holes in them, bored by ants to get to the sugar-rich seeds. In the spring, the leaves that appear will be bilateral (growing out of both sides of each branch). This plant was in full sun.