Mimosa pigra

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Subfamily Mimosoideae

Mostly trees or shrubs . Leaves mostly bipinnate. Corolla usually not showy, actinomorphic , sympetalous , the lobes valvate . Stamens 10-numerous, often monadelphous , showy. Pollen released in monads , tetrads , or polyads . Seeds with u-shaped line (pleurogram) present. [Carr]

Genus Mimosa

Trees shrubs or herbs, mostly armed ; leaves bipinnate; secondary rachides mostly 2-stipellate. Inflorescence globose head or cylindric spike. Flowers small, sessile 6-3-merous. Calyx usually minute. Petals more or less connate . Stamens double the number of petals or equal, free , often twice as long as the corol¬la; anthers small, eglandular . Ovary usually sessile, 2 or more ovuled; style fill form. Fruit oblong or linear , usually plano-compressed, valves 2, separating from the persistent margins . Seeds ovate or orbicular , flat.

A genus with about 600 species, mostly from tropics and subtropics.[1]

Physical Description

Habitat

Mimosa favors a wet-dry tropical climate and would probably not be a major problem in regions with an annual rainfall of less than 750 mm or greater than 2250 mm, except in cases of clear cutting. Mimosa does not appear to grow preferentially in any soil type, but is found most commonly in floodplains and riverbanks within soils ranging from black cracking clays to sandy clays to coarse siliceous river sand. Seed production and plant life expectancy are greater on black cracking clays than on the lighter clays and silty loams (Lonsdale 1992).

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,037 meters (0 to 9,964 feet).[2]

Ecology: It spreads out from watercourses , destroying natural ecosystems and smothering pastures. In Northern Australia about 450 km squared of river floodplain and swamp forest has been covered by dense, monospecific thickets of Mimosa pigra. These thickets have fewer birds and lizards, less herbaceous vegetation and fewer tree seedlings than uninvaded native vegetation. It prevents traditional food gathering by Aborigines on otherwise resource rich wetlands. It threatens pastoral industries and prevents access to waterways by people and animals. In Asia it blocks irrigation channels and causes silting of dams. It is a safety hazard along roadways.

Biology

Reproduction

Bee-pollinated, probably self-compatible, possibly wind-pollinated as well. Does not normally reproduce vegetatively.A typical annual production of about 9,000 seeds per square metre . Annual seed production per plant has been measured at up to 220,000 seeds under ideal conditions. The seeds are extremely hard and can remain dormant for more than 15 years.

Plants can begin flowering 6-8 months after germination. Flowering continues as long as water is available. Flower buds take 7-9 days to mature , and production of mature seed pods a further 25 days.

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11. (map)

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Mimosa asperata pigra Willd. • Mimosa asperata var. pigra Willd. • Mimosa brasiliensis Niederl. • Mimosa canescens Willd. • Mimosa ciliata Willd. • Mimosa hispida Willd. • Mimosa polyacantha Willd. • Mimosa polycantha Willd.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Comment: Climbing : Not climbing, Conservation Status: Not Threatened, Habit: Shrub , Lifespan: Perennial

Similar Species

Members of the genus Mimosa

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 41 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. aculeaticarpa (Cat's-Claw Mimosa) · M. albida (Zarza) · M. arenosa (Elegant Mimosa) · M. asperata (Black Mimosa) · M. bahamensis (Bahama Mimosa) · M. borealis (Catclaw Mimosa) · M. caesalpiniifolia (Jupinuan) · M. casta (Graceful Mimosa) · M. ceratonia (Black Ambret) · M. diplotricha (Giant False Sensitive Plant) · M. diplotricha var. inermis (Giant Sensitive-Plant) · M. dysocarpa (Velvetpod Mimosa) · M. emoryana (Emory's Mimosa) · M. grahamii (Graham's Mimosa) · M. hystricina (Porcupine Mimosa) · M. invisa (Giant False Sensitive Plant) · M. latidens (Kairn's Sensitive-Briar) · M. laxiflora (Arizona Mimosa) · M. macracantha (Long-Spined Acacia) · M. malacophylla (Soft-Leaf Mimosa) · M. nuttallii (Catclaw Sensitivebriar) · M. pellita (Lollipop Mimosa) · M. pigra (Amourette) · M. pigra var. pigra (Thorny Sensitive-Plant) · M. pudica (Cierra Tus Puertas) · M. pudica var. hispida (Sensitive Plant) · M. pudica var. pudica (Shameplant) · M. pudica var. setosa (Sensitive-Plant) · M. pudica var. tetrandra (Sensitive-Plant) · M. pudica var. unijuga (Shameplant) · M. quadrivalvis (Cats Claw) · M. quadrivalvis var. floridana (Catclaw Sensitivebriar) · M. quadrivalvis var. hystricina (Bristly Sensitive-Brier) · M. rupertiana (Eastern Sensitive Plant) · M. scabrella (Abaracaatinga) · M. schomburgkii (Schomburgk's Mimosa) · M. somnians (Dormideira) · M. strigillosa (Herbaceous Mimosa) · M. tenuiflora (Cabrera) · M. turneri (Desert Mimosa) · M. verrucosa (Jurema Branca)

More Info

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Further Reading

• A contribution to the flora of Honduras, by T. G. Yuncker. 17 1938 Chicago, 1938. url p. 369.
• Annals of natural history. London, R. and J.E. Taylor, url p. 389, p. 389, p. 389.
• Biosphere Reserves, Compilation 4, October 1986: programme on man and the biosphere (MAB) IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre url p. 335, p. 361.
• Britton, N. L. (ed.). North American flora. [New York]New York Botanical Garden. url p. 168, p. 719.
• Bulletin / Illinois Natural History Survey. Urbana, State of Illinois, Dept. of Registration and Education, Natural History Survey Division, 1918-1985. url p. 154.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: The Museum, 1951-1992. url p. 359.
• Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 49 1922 New York: Torrey Botanical Club, 1870-1996 url p. 194.
• Catalogue of the African plants London, Printed by order of the Trustees, 1896-1901. url , .
• Catalogue of the African plants collected by Dr. Friedrich Welwitsch in 1853-61. .. London, Printed by order of the Trustees, 1896-1901. url p. 194, p. 309.
• Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 23 1920-1926 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1890- url p. 1658, p. 193, p. 2, p. 362, p. 44, p. 64, p. 88.
• Contributions from the University of Michigan Herbarium. 24 2005 Ann Arbor: University Herbarium, University of Michigan, 1939- url p. 160, p. 161, p. 76, p. 78, p. 97.
• Dedication papers: scientific papers presented at the dedication of the laboratory building and plant houses, April 19-21, 1917. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1918. url p. 51.
• Directory of Wetlands of International Importance. IUCN url p. 50, p. 623, p. 771.
• Don, G. A general history of the dichlamydeous plants: comprising complete descriptions of the different orders...the whole arranged according to the natural system /by George Don. 2 1832 London: J.G. and F. Rivington, 1831-1838. url p. 385.
• English cyclopaedia, a new dictionary of universal knowledge, conducted by Charles Knight. London, Bradbury, 1854-61. url .
• Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url p. 219, p. 87, p. 88.
• Fifty years of botany; golden jubilee volume of the Botanical Society of America, edited by William Campbell Steere. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1958. url p. 263.
• Flora Malesiana. general editor, C.G.G.J. van Steenis. Djakarta: Noordhoff-Kolff, 1950- url p. 185, p. 4.
• Flora of Costa Rica. .. by Paul C. Standley. .. 18 1937 Chicago, 1937. url p. 20, p. 503.
• Flora of Guatemala: families Leguminosae, Geraniaceae, Oxalidaceae, Tropaeolaceae, Linaceae, Erythroxylaceae, Zygophyllaceae, Rutaceae, Simaroubaceae, Burseraceae, Meliaceae, and Malpighiaceae / by Paul C. Standley and Julian A. Steyermark. 24 1946 Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Natural History Museum, 1946. url p. 59.
• Flora of Jamaica, containing descriptions of the flowering plants known from the island, by William Fawcett and Alfred Barton Rendle. London.Printed by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, 1910- url p. 132, p. 132.
• Flora of Peru / by J. Francis Macbride. 13 1943 Chicago, [Ill.]: Field Museum of Natural History, [1943] url p. 92.
• Flora of Yucatan, by Paul C. Standley. 3 1930 Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, 1930. url p. 279.
• Flora of the Aguan valley and the coastal regions near La Ceiba, Honduras, by T. G. Yuncker. 9 1940 [Chicago]1940. url p. 297.
• Flora of the Lancetilla Valley, Honduras, by Paul C. Standley. 10 1931 Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, 1931. url p. 214, p. 32.
• IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas IUCN, UNEP url p. 1025, p. 529, p. 798.
• IUCN Directory of Neotropical Protected Areas IUCN url p. 378.
• Journal of the New York Botanical Garden. 22 1921 Lancaster, Pa.: Published for the Garden by the New Era Printing Co., 1900- url p. 180, p. 241.
• Memoirs / Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Garden, 1918-1936. url p. 51.
• Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: The Academy, 1868- url p. 53, p. 75.
• Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club. 17 1918 Durham, N.C.: Published for the Club by the Seeman Printery, 1889- url p. 119.
• Mende natural history vocabulary. London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1913. url p. 44.
• Montana weed management plan / Helena, Mont.: Montana Dept. of Transportation, 2008. url .
• Native woody plants of the United States, their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, U. S. Govt. print. off., 1938. url p. 168, p. 169.
• Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences, url p. 34.
• Phytologia memoirs. Plainfield, N.J.: H.N. Moldenke and A.L. Moldenke, 1980- url p. 160.
• Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 29, p. 37, p. 388, p. 44, p. 69.
• Plants of the Bahamas, Jamaica and Grand Cayman, by A.S. Hitchcock. .. Issued March 9, 1893. St. Louis, 1893 url p. 82.
• Principles of scientific botany, or, Botany as an inductive science by Dr. J.M. Schleiden. .. translated by Edwin Lankester. .. London: Printed for Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1849 url p. 552.
• Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Boston: Metcalf and Co., 1846-1958 url p. 331.
• Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. Washington, etc.: Entomological Society of Washington url , , , p. 16, p. 17, p. 18, p. 19, p. 2, p. 23, p. 31, p. 32, p. 35, p. 358, p. 359, p. 36, p. 361, p. 363, p. 365, p. 367, p. 43, p. 44, p. 627, p. 651, p. 674, p. 678, p. 974.
• Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. Sydney, Linnean Society of New South Wales. url p. 238.
• The Bradley bibliography; a guide to the literature of the woody plants of the world published before the beginning of the twentieth century; Cambridge, Riverside Press, 1911-18. url p. 371.
• The Bulletin of zoological nomenclature. London, International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. url p. 99.
• The Cost of Policy Inaction: The case of not meeting the 2010 biodiversity target European Commission url p. 161, p. 297.
• The Ecology of arboreal folivores: a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975 / Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1978. url p. 102, p. 104, p. 107.
• The flora of the American Virgin Islands / N.L. Britton. New York: New York Botanical Garden, 1918. url p. 51.
• The forests and flora of British Honduras / by Paul C. Standley and Samuel J. Record; in cooperation with the Conservator of Forests and the Agricultural Officer of the Colony. 12 1936 Chicago: [Field Museum of Natural History], 1936. url p. 164, p. 165.
• The new botanic garden, illustrated with one hundred and thirty-three plants, engraved by Sansom, from the original pictures, and coloured with the greatest exactness from drawings by Sydenham Edwards... London, J. Stockdale, 1812. url p. 292.
• Torreya. Burlington, Vt., Torrey Botanical Club, 1901-1945. url p. 137, p. 194.
• Trees and shrubs of Mexico / By Paul C. Standley. Washington, Govt. Print. Off., 1920-1926. url p. 1658, p. 362.
• University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History. 15 1965 Lawrence, University of Kansas. url plate 36.
• Wholesale catalogue of American trees, shrubs, plants, and seeds, cultivated and for sale at the Linn©an Botanic Garden and nurseries, near New-York. William Prince, proprietor. .. New-York, Printed by T. and J. Swords, 1827. url p. 163.
• World Plant Conservation Bibliography WCMC, Royal Botanic Gardens url p. 154.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 9, 2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 22, 2007:

• Australian National Herbarium
• , Australian National Herbarium
• Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program
• Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Virtual Herbarium Darwin Core format
• Herbarium of the University of Aarhus, The AAU Herbarium Database
• Herbier de la Guyane, Herbier de la Guyane
• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
• , Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
• International Plant Genetic Resources Institute(IPGRI), The System-wide Information Network for Genetic Resources
• Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
• National Herbarium of New South Wales, Plants of Papua New Guinea
• SysTax, Herbarium Universitat Ulm
• SysTax, SysTax
• The New York Botanical Garden, Species of Eastern Brazil Vascular Plant Specimens
• University of Alabama Biodiversity and Systematics, Herbarium

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2650954
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ILD-76
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13640958
• Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:508485-1
• GRIN Nomen Number: 24400
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 26789
• International Plant Names Index (IPNI) ID: 313003-2
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PDFAB2K090
• U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: MIPI
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 12839

Footnotes

1. "Mimosa". in Flora of Pakistan . Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
2. Mean = 341.390 meters (1,120.046 feet), Standard Deviation = 583.570 based on 692 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.