Mimosa

For other uses, see Mimosa (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Acacia dealbata and Albizia julibrissin, also known as "mimosa".

Mimosa
Mimosa flower heads
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Mimosa
L. (1753)
Type species
Mimosa pudica
Species

About 600 species

Synonyms[1]
  • Acanthopteron Britton (1928)
  • Eburnax Raf. (1836)
  • Haitimimosa Britton (1928)
  • Leptoglottis DC. ex Raspail (1827)
  • Lomoplis Raf. (1838)
  • Mimosopsis Britton & Rose (1928)
  • Morongia Britton (1894)
  • Neomimosa Britton & Rose (1928)
  • Pteromimosa Britton (1928)
  • Schranckiastrum Hassl. (1919)
  • Schrankia Willd. (1806), nom. cons.
  • Sensitiva Raf. (1838)

Mimosa is a genus of about 600[2] species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. Species are native to the Americas, from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to eastern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar) as well as the Indian subcontinent and Indochina.[1] The generic name is derived from the Greek word μῖμος (mimos), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -osa, "resembling", suggesting its 'sensitive leaves' which seem to 'mimic conscious life'.[3][4]

Two species in the genus are especially notable. One is Mimosa pudica, commonly known as touch-me-not, which folds its leaves when touched or exposed to heat. It is native to southern Central and South America but is widely cultivated elsewhere for its curiosity value, both as a houseplant in temperate areas, and outdoors in the tropics. Outdoor cultivation has led to weedy invasion in some areas, notably Hawaii. The other is Mimosa tenuiflora, which is best known for its use in shamanic ayahuasca brews due to the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine found in its root bark.

  1. ^ a b "Mimosa L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Caesalpinoideae". Legume Data Portal. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ^ Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants (4 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 356. ISBN 978-0-521-86645-3.
  4. ^ Austin, Daniel F. (2004). Florida ethnobotany Fairchild Tropical Garden, Coral Gables, Florida, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona: with more than 500 species illustrated by Penelope N. Honychurch ... [et al.] Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780203491881.