page_title: Mimosa
section_title: Species
hierarchical_section_title: Mimosa / Species
caption_attribution_description: English: Mimosa diplotricha or Giant Sensitive plant
context_page_description: Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μῖμος, 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, which folds its leaves when touched or exposed to heat. It is native to southern Central and South America but is widely cultivated elsewhere for its curiosity value, both as a houseplant in temperate areas, and outdoors in the tropics. Outdoor cultivation has led to weedy invasion in some areas, notably Hawaii. The other is Mimosa tenuiflora, which is best known for its use in shamanic ayahuasca brews due to the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine found in its root bark.
context_section_description: There are about 400 species including:
  Mimosa aculeaticarpa 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
  Mimosa pudica 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
  Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. (= Mimosa hostilis)
  Mimosa texana (Gray) Small
  Mimosa townsendii Barneby
  Mimosa turneri Barneby
  Mimosa verrucosa Benth.
caption: Mimosa diplotricha in Kerala, India
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