''Mimosa'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resembling", suggesting its 'sensitive leaves' which seem to 'mimic conscious life'. Two species in the genus are especially notable. One is ''

Mimosa pudica ''Mimosa pudica'' (from la, pudica "shy, bashful or shrinking"; also called sensitive plant, sleepy plant, action plant, touch-me-not, shameplant) is a creeping annual or perennial flowering plant of the pea/legume family Fabaceae. It is often g ...

'', commonly known as touch-me-not, which folds its leaves when touched or exposed to heat. It is native to southern Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

but is widely cultivated elsewhere for its curiosity value, both as a

houseplant A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

in temperate areas, and outdoors in the tropics. Outdoor cultivation has led to

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

in some areas, notably

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. The other is ''

Mimosa tenuiflora ''Mimosa tenuiflora'', syn. ''Mimosa hostilis'', also known as jurema preta, calumbi (Brazil), tepezcohuite (México), carbonal, cabrera, jurema, black jurema, and binho de jurema, is a perennial tree or shrub native to the northeastern region of ...

'', which is best known for its use in shamanic

ayahuasca AyahuascaPronounced as in the UK and in the US. Also occasionally known in English as ''ayaguasca'' ( Spanish-derived), ''aioasca'' (Brazilian Portuguese-derived), or as ''yagé'', pronounced or . Etymologically, all forms but ''yagé'' desce ...

brews due to the psychedelic drug

dimethyltryptamine ''N'',''N''-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT or ''N'',''N''-DMT, SPL026) is a substituted tryptamine that occurs in many plants and animals, including human beings, and which is both a derivative and a structural analog of tryptamine. It is used as a ...

found in its root bark.

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of the genus ''Mimosa'' has gone through several periods of splitting and lumping, ultimately accumulating over 3,000 names, many of which have either been synonymized under other species or transferred to other genera. In part due to these changing circumscriptions, the name "Mimosa" has also been applied to several other related species with similar pinnate or bipinnate leaves, but are now classified in other genera. The most common examples of this are ''

Albizia julibrissin ''Albizia julibrissin'', the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southwestern Asia and eastern Asia. The genus is named after the Italian nobleman Filippo degli Albizzi, w ...

'' (Persian silk tree) and ''

Acacia dealbata ''Acacia dealbata'', the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory, and widel ...

'' (wattle).

Description

Members of this genus are among the few plants capable of rapid movement; examples outside of ''Mimosa'' include the

telegraph plant ''Codariocalyx motorius'' (though often placed in ''Desmodium''), known as the telegraph plant, dancing plant, or semaphore plant, is a tropical Asian shrub in the Pea Family (Papillionaceae), one of a few plants capable of rapid plant movement ...

, ''

Aldrovanda ''Aldrovanda'' is a genus of carnivorous plants encompassing one extant species (''Aldrovanda vesiculosa'', the waterwheel plant) and numerous extinct taxa. The genus is named in honor of the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, the founder of ...

'', some species of ''

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginou ...

'' and the

Venus flytrap The Venus flytrap (''Dionaea muscipula'') is a carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina. It catches its prey—chiefly insects and arachnids—with a trapping ...

. The leaves of the ''Mimosa pudica'' close quickly when touched. Some mimosas raise their leaves in the day and lower them at night, and experiments done by Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan on mimosas in 1729 provided the first evidence of biological clocks.Neuroscience; Bear, Connors, Paradiso ''Mimosa'' can be distinguished from the large related genera, '' Acacia'' and ''

Albizia ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

'', since its flowers have ten or fewer stamens. Botanically, what appears to be a single globular flower is actually a cluster of many individual ones. Mimosas contain some level of

heptanoic acid Enanthic acid, also called heptanoic acid, is an organic compound composed of a seven-carbon chain terminating in a carboxylic acid functional group. It is a colorless oily liquid with an unpleasant, rancid odor. It contributes to the odor of so ...

Species

There are about 590 species including: *''

Mimosa aculeaticarpa ''Mimosa aculeaticarpa'' is a species of woody shrub in the family Fabaceae. It is commonly known as the catclaw mimosa or the wait-a-minute bush, and is endemic to upland regions of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, particularly Ar ...

'' Ortega *'' Mimosa andina'' Benth. *'' Mimosa arenosa'' (Willd.) Poir. *'' Mimosa asperata'' L. *'' Mimosa borealis'' Gray *'' Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia'' Benth. *'' Mimosa casta'' L. *'' Mimosa cupica'' Gray *'' Mimosa ceratonia'' L. *'' Mimosa diplotricha'' C.Wright ''ex'' Sauvalle *'' Mimosa disperma'' Barneby *'' Mimosa distachya'' Cav. *'' Mimosa dysocarpa'' Benth. *'' Mimosa emoryana'' Benth. *'' Mimosa grahamii'' Gray *'' Mimosa hamata'' Willd. *'' Mimosa hystricina'' (Small ex Britt. et Rose) B.L.Turner *'' Mimosa invisa'' Martius ''ex'' Colla *'' Mimosa latidens'' (Small) B.L. Turner *'' Mimosa laxiflora'' Benth. *'' Mimosa loxensis'' Barneby *'' Mimosa malacophylla'' Gray *'' Mimosa microphylla'' Dry. *'' Mimosa nothacacia'' Barneby *'' Mimosa nuttallii'' (DC.) B.L. Turner *'' Mimosa ophthalmocentra'' Mart. ex Benth. 1865 *'' Mimosa pellita'' Kunth ex Willd. *'' Mimosa pigra'' L. *'' Mimosa polycarpa'' Kunth *''

'' L. *'' Mimosa quadrivalvis'' L. **''Mimosa quadrivalvis'' var. ''hystricina'' (Small) Barneby **''Mimosa quadrivalvis'' var. ''quadrivalvis'' L. *'' Mimosa roemeriana'' Scheele *'' Mimosa rubicaulis'' Lam. *'' Mimosa rupertiana'' B.L. Turner *'' Mimosa scabrella'' Benth. *'' Mimosa schomburgkii'' Benth. *'' Mimosa somnians'' Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. *'' Mimosa strigillosa'' Torr. et Gray *''

'' (Willd.) Poir. (= ''Mimosa hostilis'') *'' Mimosa texana'' (Gray) Small *'' Mimosa townsendii'' Barneby *'' Mimosa turneri'' Barneby *'' Mimosa verrucosa''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

References

External links

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Mimosa-pudica.de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q160110 Fabaceae genera Articles containing video clips