Mimosa asperata

Botanical Name

Mimosa asperata Linnaeus

Common Name(s)

  • Berlandier's mimosa

Legume Clades

Native Geographic Range

  • Southwestern North America
  • Central America

IUCN Status

Growth Form

shrub

Cultivation Status in AZ

Uniquely cultivated by DELEP

Description

Cold-deciduous shrubs to 6.5 ft (2 m) or more high with smooth, reddish brown bark. The twigs are armed with stiff prickles. Leaves are bipinnate with 4--6 pairs of pinnae. The leaf axis is often armed with prickles. Each pinna has 20--33 pairs of leaflets. The leaflets of this species rapidly fold together if touched. The flowers are pink and are produced in spherical inflorescences that appear primarily during the summer.

Habitat

Widespread in tropical regions of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, and in southern Texas where the plants often occur on floodplains, banks of ponds and rivers, and other moist sites.

Uses

None reported.

Horticulture

Not recommended for cultivation. The stems freeze back with average winter temperatures in Tucson.