''Mimosa texana'' is a shrub in the family Fabaceae. It is commonly known as the Texas mimosa, the Texas catclaw or the Wherry mimosa and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to upland regions of Mexico and Texas.USDA
/ref> This species used to be classified as ''Mimosa biuncifera'' but it was found that phenotypic variations occurred across its range and a new taxonomy was proposed by Rupert C. Barneby in 1986, splitting the species into '' Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera'' and ''Mimosa texana''.Re-evaluation of Mimosa biuncifera and M. texana (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)
/ref>

Distribution

Texas mimosa is found on alkaline soils in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and Zapata and Starr counties in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It is uncommon and grows on

caliche Caliche () is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or semiarid regions ...

and gravelly hillsides.Museum of Learning: Mimosa texana
/ref>

Description

This species is a straggly, much branched, deciduous shrub of up to two metres tall. It has slender, zigzag, dark coloured twigs clad in backward pointing prickles. The alternate bi-pinnate leaves have medium-sized leaflets. The globular flowers are creamy-white and cover the bush in the spring. They are intensely fragrant and attract numerous insects. The seed pods are brick red and flattened, with prickly edges.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6862342 texana