font settings

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia

Mimosa

(Genus)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ????? (mimos), meaning "mimic."1]

There are two species in the genus that are notable[]. One is Mimosa pudica, because of the way it 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 DMT found in its root bark.

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]
< p>The taxonomy of thegenus Mimosa has had a tortuous history, having gone through periods of splitting and lumping, ultimately accumulating over 3,000 names, many of which have either been synonymized under other species or transferred to other genera. In part due to these changing circumscriptions, the name "Mimosa" has also been applied to several other related species with similar pinnate or bipinnate leaves, but are now classified in other genera, most commonly to Albizia julibrissin (silk tree) and Acacia dealbata (wattle).

Description

[ Back to top ]
Mimosa pudica leaves folding when touched 2.ogv
Mimosa pudica leaves closing when touched

Members of this genus are among the few plants capable of rapid movement; examples outside of Mimosa include the telegraph plant, and the venus flytrap. The leaves of the plant close quickly when touched. Some mimosas raise their leaves in day and lower them at night, and experiments done by Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan on mimosas in 1729 provided the first evidence of biological clocks.[2] Mimosa can be distinguished from the large related genera, Acacia and Albizia, since its flowers have 10 or fewer stamens. Note that, botanically, what appears to be a single globular flower is actually a cluster of many individual ones. Mimosa contains some level of heptanoic acid.

Species

[ Back to top ]
Mimosa hamanta in Hyderabad, India.
Mimosa prior to a touch
Mimosa with folded-in leaves immediately after a touch

There are about 400 species including:

  • Mimosa aculeaticarpa Ortega
    • Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera Ortega
  • Mimosa arenosa (Willd.) Poir.
  • Mimosa asperata L.
  • Mimosa borealis Gray
  • Mimosa casta L.
  • Mimosa ceratonia L.
  • Mimosa diplotricha C.Wright ex Sauvalle
  • Mimosa dysocarpa Benth.
    • Mimosa dysocarpa var. dysocarpa Benth.
  • Mimosa emoryana Benth.
  • Mimosa grahamii Gray
    • Mimosa grahamii var. grahamii Gray
  • Mimosa hostilis
  • Mimosa hystricina (Small ex Britt. et Rose) B.L.Turner
  • Mimosa latidens (Small) B.L. Turner
  • Mimosa laxiflora Benth.
  • Mimosa malacophylla Gray
  • Mimosa microphylla Dry.
  • Mimosa nuttallii (DC.) B.L. Turner
  • Mimosa pellita Kunth ex Willd.
  • Mimosa pigra L.
    • Mimosa pigra var. pigra L.
  • Mimosa pudica L. - La sensitive
  • Mimosa quadrivalvis L.
    • Mimosa quadrivalvis var. hystricina (Small) Barneby
  • Mimosa roemeriana Scheele
  • Mimosa rubicaulis Lam.
  • Mimosa rupertiana B.L. Turner
  • Mimosa scabrella Benth.
  • Mimosa schomburgkii Benth.
  • Mimosa somnians
  • Mimosa strigillosa Torr. et Gray
  • Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. (= Mimosa hostilis)
  • Mimosa texana (Gray) Small
  • Mimosa turneri Barneby
  • Mimosa verrucosa Benth.
ca 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 DMT found in its root bark.

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

The taxonomy of thegenus Mimosa has had a tortuous history, having gone through periods of splitting and lumping, ultimately accumulating over 3,000 names, many of which have either been synonymized under other species or transferred to other genera. In part due to these changing circumscriptions, the name "Mimosa" has also been applied to several other related species with similar pinnate or bipinnate leaves, but are now classi fied in other genera, most commonly to Albizia julibrissin (silk tree) and Acacia dealbata (wattle).

Description

[ Back to top ]
Mimosa pudica leaves folding when touched 2.ogv
Mimosa pudica leaves closing when touched

Members of this genus are among the few plants capable of rapid movement; examples outside of Mimosa include the telegraph plant, and the venus flytrap. The leaves of the plant close quickly when touched. Some mimosas raise their leaves in day and lower them at night, and experiments done by Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan on mimosas in 1729 provided the first evidence of biological clocks.[2] Mimosa can be distinguished from the large related genera, Acacia and Albizia, since its flowers have 10 or fewer stamens. Note that, botanically, what appears to be a single globular flower is actually a cluster of many individual ones. Mimosa contains some level of heptanoic acid.

Species

[ Back to top ]
Mimosa hamanta in Hyderabad, India.
Mimosa prior to a touch
Mimosa with folded-in leaves immediately after a touch

There are about 400 species including:

  • Mimosa aculeaticarpa Ortega
    • Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera Ortega
  • Mimosa arenosa (Willd.) Poir.
  • Mimosa asperata L.
  • Mimosa borealis Gray
  • Mimosa casta L.
  • Mimosa ceratonia L.
  • Mimosa diplotricha C.Wright ex Sauvalle
  • Mimosa dysocarpa Benth.
    • Mimosa dysocarpa var. dysocarpa Benth.
  • Mimosa emoryana Benth.
  • Mimosa grahamii Gray
    • Mimosa grahamii var. grahamii Gray
  • Mimosa hostilis
  • Mimosa hystricina (Small ex Britt. et Rose) B.L.Turner
  • Mimosa latidens (Small) B.L. Turner
  • Mimosa laxiflora Benth.
  • Mimosa malacophylla Gray
  • Mimosa microphylla Dry.
  • Mimosa nuttallii (DC.) B.L. Turner
  • Mimosa pellita Kunth ex Willd.
  • Mimosa pigra L.
    • Mimosa pigra var. pigra L.
  • Mimosa pudica L. - La sensitive
  • Mimosa quadrivalvis L.
    • Mimosa quadrivalvis var. hystricina (Small) Barneby
  • Mimosa roemeriana Scheele
  • Mimosa rubicaulis Lam.
  • Mimosa rupertiana B.L. Turner
  • Mimosa scabrella Benth.
  • Mimosa schomburgkii Benth.
  • Mimosa somnians
  • Mimosa strigillosa Torr. et Gray
  • Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. (= Mimosa hostilis)
  • Mimosa texana (Gray) Small
  • Mimosa turneri Barneby
  • Mimosa verrucosa Benth.

References

[ Back to top ]
  1. ^ Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants (4 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 356. ISBN 9780521866453. http://books.google.com/books?id=NJ6PyhVuecwC. 
  2. ^ Neuroscience; Bear, Connors,Paradiso
  • Barneby, R.C. 1992. Sensitivae Censitae: A description of the genus Mimosa Linnaeus (Mimosaceae) in the New World. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden, vol. 65.

External links

[ Back to top ]

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

The Genus Mimosa is further organized into finer groupings including:

References

[ Back to top ]
  1. ^ Gledhill, D. (2008). The Names of Plants (4 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 356. ISBN 9780521866453. http://books.google.com/books?id=NJ6PyhVuecwC. 
  2. ^ Neuroscience; Bear, Connors,Paradiso

Sources

[ Back to top ]
Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 15:45:39