''Mimosa scabrella'' is a tree in the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

Mimosoideae The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petals ...

of the family

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. It is a cross-pollinating, mostly tetraploid plant with 52 chromosomes. ''Mimosa scabrella'' is native to the southern region of Brazil. There it grows naturally in associations called “Bracatingais”. The

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...

zone is a centre of biodiversity of ''

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resembl ...

'', where about one quarter of all ''Mimosa'' species are found. However ''M. scabrella'' evolved to grow in colder humid weather south from this region, in a sub-type of

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

, called "mixed ombrophilous forest" (also known as

Araucaria moist forests The Araucaria moist forests, officially classified as mixed ombrophilous forest (Portuguese: "Floresta Ombrófila Mista") in Brazil, are a montane subtropical moist forest ecoregion. The forest ecosystem is located in southern Brazil and northeast ...

). It is one of the fastest growing trees in the world. Within 14 months ''Mimosa scabrella'' grows up to , in 2 years it reaches , and in 3 years it can grow to a height of .Orwa C,A Muta, Kindt R, Jamnads R,S Anthony. 209 Agroforestry Database: a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Mimosa_scabrella.pdf) http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Mimosa_scabrella.pdf

Characterization

The plant is characterized by quick growth, with a lean trunk of around in diameter. The leaves are bi-pinnate. Each leaf has several pinna, which again have 15–31 pairs of

pinnules A leaflet (occasionally called foliole) in botany is a leaf-like part of a compound leaf. Though it resembles an entire leaf, a leaflet is not borne on a main plant stem or branch, as a leaf is, but rather on a petiole or a branch of the leaf. Co ...

. The upper side of the leaves is yellow-green coloured with a paler underneath. The flowers with ovary, narrow and slender

pistils Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

are ordered in clusters of 1–3 at the leaf bases. They are colored in a whitish to yellow color. Split-open pods are flattened, wide and long. They are covered with tiny warts and separated into 2–4 segments. Each segment is 4-angeled and 1-seeded. The

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s are little, brown, beanlike and about long. The dominant reproductive system is an

allogamy Allogamy or cross-fertilization is the fertilization of an ovum from one individual with the spermatozoa of another. By contrast, autogamy is the term used for self-fertilization. In humans, the fertilization event is an instance of allogamy. Self- ...

(cross-pollinating) system. The reproductive age of ''M. scabrella'' is reached after around 3 years.

Uses

Because of the abundant flowering and presence of honeydew caused by

Cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...

infestation in some altitudes the tree has an important place in honey production, especially in Brazil. Its wood is suitable for firewood and can also be used as lumber. Before the advent of the

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

, ''M. scabrella'' wood was grown to fuel railroads in parts of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The long fibres are used for paper production. In

agroforestry Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. Trees produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional ...

''M. scabrella'' shades coffee plants. It is also used in

intercropping Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice that involves growing two or more crops in proximity. In other words, intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field. The most common goal of intercropping is ...

systems in association with maize and beans. Because ''M. scabrella'' is a

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

tree it doesn't need fertilization and with the

decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...

of the leaves, big amounts of

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

become available for other plants. Because ''M. scabrella'' has beautiful “feather” leaves, it is often used as an ornamental tree or live fence. Because of its fast growth its often used for

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debate ...

management.

Alkaloids

''Mimosa scabrella'' contains the

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

tryptamine Tryptamine is an indolamine metabolite of the essential amino acid, tryptophan. The chemical structure is defined by an indole ─ a fused benzene and pyrrole ring, and a 2-aminoethyl group at the second carbon (third aromatic atom, with the f ...

, ''N''-methyltryptamine, ''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine and ''N''-methyltetrahydrocarboline in its bark.

Cultivation

''Mimosa scabrella'' can be grown at altitudes of with an annual mean temperature between . The annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

should reach from . The soil should be well drained. Acid soils with pH as low as 4.8 and soils with high

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

content are tolerated. Waterlogged, compacted or severely degraded soils are not suitable for ''M. scabrella''. Dry periods of up to four months can be tolerated. ''Mimosa scabrella'' is susceptible to strong winds. Although ''M. scabrella'' is native to

, it is cultivated in many South American, some African and South European countries. In its native range, some 28 species of insects are reported to attack ''M. scabrella''.

References

External links

*
''Mimosa scabrella'' (www.worldagroforestry.org)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6862341 scabrella Flora of the Atlantic Forest Flora of Brazil Flora of Misiones Province