Mimosa malacophylla

Botanical Name

Mimosa malacophylla A. Gray

Common Name(s)

  • vine mimosa
  • raspa huevos (Spanish)
  • raspilla (Spanish)

Legume Clades

Native Geographic Range

  • Southwestern North America

IUCN Status

Growth Form

shrub
climber/vine

Cultivation Status in AZ

Uniquely cultivated by DELEP

Description

Shrubs with weak, vine-like stems that can grow to 12 ft (3.5 m) long and are armed with numerous prickles. The stems grow over other plants or can form a tangled mass if other support is unavailable. The plants are typically evergreen unless killed back by freezing temperatures. Leaves are bipinnate with 3--7 pairs of pinnae, each with 3--8 pairs of leaflets. White flowers appear in rounded inflorescences during the summer.

Habitat

Native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. The plants are found along ditches, in thickets, and on slopes in thornscrub and subtropical forest.

Uses

None reported.

Horticulture

Vine mimosa in not used in landscaping. It has unpleasantly prickly, bramble-like stems and is damaged below about 28° F (-2° C). Frozen plants recover rapidly the following season.