View source for Mimosa

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plant(Namesta Plant) in the family Fabaceae}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|text=''[[Acacia dealbata]]'' and ''[[Albizia julibrissin]]'', also known as "mimosa"}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Oligocene|Present}}
| image = Mimosa flowers 01.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Mimosa pudica]]'' flower heads
| taxon = Mimosa
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] (1753)
| type_species = ''[[Mimosa pudica]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = [[List of Mimosa species|About 600 species]]
| synonyms = *''Acanthopteron'' <small>Britton (1928)</small>
*''Eburnax'' {{small|Raf. (1836)}}
*''Haitimimosa'' <small>Britton (1928)</small>
*''Leptoglottis'' <small>DC. ex Raspail (1827)</small>
*''Lomoplis'' <small>Raf. (1838)</small>
*''Mimosopsis'' <small>Britton & Rose (1928)</small>
*''Morongia'' <small>Britton (1894)</small>
*''Neomimosa'' <small>Britton & Rose (1928)</small>
*''Pteromimosa'' <small>Britton  (1928)</small>
*''Schranckiastrum'' <small>Hassl. (1919)</small>
*''Schrankia'' <small>Willd. (1806), nom. cons.</small>
*''Sensitiva'' {{small|Raf. (1838)}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name = powo>{{cite POWO |id=30001613-2 |title=''Mimosa'' L. |access-date=6 September 2023}}</ref>
}}

'''''Mimosa''''' is a [[genus]] of about 600<ref>{{cite web |title=Caesalpinoideae |url=https://www.legumedata.org/taxonomy/caesalpinioideae/ |website=Legume Data Portal |access-date=9 September 2023}}</ref> species of herbs and shrubs, in the [[Mimosoideae|mimosoid clade]] of the [[legume]] family [[Fabaceae]]. Species are native to the [[Americas]], from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to [[eastern Africa]] (Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar) as well as the Indian subcontinent and Indochina.<ref name=powo/> The generic name is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word {{lang|el|μῖμος}} (''mimos''), 'actor' or 'mime', and the feminine suffix -''osa'', 'resembling', suggesting its 'sensitive leaves' which seem to 'mimic conscious life'.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NJ6PyhVuecwC |title=The Names of Plants |first=D. |last=Gledhill |edition=4 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86645-3 |year=2008 |page=356}}</ref><ref name=aus>{{cite book |last1=Austin |first1=Daniel F. |title=Florida ethnobotany Fairchild Tropical Garden, Coral Gables, Florida, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona: with more than 500 species illustrated by Penelope N. Honychurch ... [et al.] |date=2004 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton, Florida |isbn=9780203491881 |page=58}}</ref>

Two species in the genus are especially notable. One is ''[[Mimosa pudica]]'', commonly known as '''touch-me-not''', which folds its leaves when touched or exposed to heat. It is native to southern [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America|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 [[weed]]y [[invasive species|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.

==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 [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonymized]] under other species or transferred to other genera. In part due to these changing [[Circumscription (taxonomy)|circumscriptions]], the name "Mimosa" has also been applied to several other related species with similar [[Pinnation|pinnate or bipinnate]] leaves, but are now classified in other genera. The most common examples of this are ''[[Albizia julibrissin]]'' (Persian silk tree) and ''[[Acacia dealbata]]'' (wattle).

==Description==
[[File:Mimosa pudica leaves folding when touched 2.ogv|thumb|''[[Mimosa pudica]]'' leaves closing when touched]]
Members of this genus are among the few plants capable of [[rapid plant movement|rapid movement]]; examples outside of ''Mimosa'' include the [[telegraph plant]], ''[[Aldrovanda]]'', some species of ''[[Drosera]]'' and the [[Venus flytrap]]. 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.<ref>Neuroscience; Bear, Connors, Paradiso</ref>

''Mimosa'' can be distinguished from the large related genera, ''[[Acacia]]'' and ''[[Albizia]]'', since its flowers have ten or fewer [[stamen]]s. Botanically, what appears to be a single globular flower is actually a cluster of many individual ones. Mimosas contain some level of [[heptanoic acid]].

==Species==
{{Main|List of Mimosa species|l1=List of ''Mimosa'' species}}
[[File:Mimosa-pudica-flower.jpg|thumb|''[[Mimosa pudica]]'']] 
[[File:Mimosa diplotricha,.jpg|thumb|''[[Mimosa diplotricha]]'' in [[Kerala]], [[India]]]]
[[File:Fabales - Mimosa scabrella 1.jpg|thumb|''[[Mimosa scabrella]]'' in [[London]]]]
[[File:Mimo pigra 080209-4579 ckoep.jpg|thumb|''[[Mimosa pigra]]'' in [[Bogor]], [[West Java]], [[Indonesia]]]]
There are about 590 species including:<ref name="POWO_30001613-2" >{{cite POWO |id=30001613-2 |title=''Mimosa'' L. |access-date=31 August 2022 }}</ref>
*''[[Mimosa aculeaticarpa]]'' <small>Ortega</small>
<!-- Mimosa adhaerens was reclassified as Mimosa albida. -->
<!-- Mimosa adstringens was reclassified as Vachellia nilotica. -->
*''[[Mimosa andina]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
<!-- Mimosa angustifolia was reclassified as Senegalia angustifolia. -->
<!-- Mimosa angustissima was reclassified as Acacia suaveolens. -->
*''[[Mimosa arenosa]]'' <small>(Willd.) Poir.</small>
<!-- Mimosa asak was reclassified as Senegalia asak. -->
*''[[Mimosa asperata]]'' <small>L.</small>
*''[[Mimosa borealis]]'' <small>Gray</small>
*''[[Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
<!-- Mimosa caesia was reclassified as Senegalia caesia. -->
<!-- Mimosa caffra was reclassified as Senegalia caffra. -->
<!-- Mimosa carthagenensis was reclassified as Senegalia riparia. -->
*''[[Mimosa casta]]'' <small>L.</small>
<!-- Mimosa concinna was reclassified as Senegalia rugata. -->
*''[[Mimosa cupica]]'' <small>Gray</small>
*''[[Mimosa ceratonia]]'' <small>L.</small>
*''[[Mimosa diplotricha]]'' <small>C.Wright ''ex'' Sauvalle</small>
*''[[Mimosa disperma]]'' <small>Barneby</small>
*''[[Mimosa distachya]]'' <small>Cav.</small>
*''[[Mimosa dysocarpa]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
*''[[Mimosa emoryana]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
<!-- Mimosa farnesiana was reclassified as Vachellia farnesiana. -->
<!-- Mimosa flava was reclassified as Vachellia flava. -->
*''[[Mimosa grahamii]]'' <small>Gray</small>
<!-- Mimosa grandisiliqua was reclassified as Senegalia tenuifolia. -->
*''[[Mimosa hamata]]'' <small>Willd.</small>
<!-- Mimosa horrida was reclassified as Vachellia horrida. -->
<!-- [[Mimosa hostilis]] is synonym of [[Mimosa tenuiflora]]-->
*''[[Mimosa hystricina]]'' <small>(Small ex Britt. et Rose) B.L.Turner</small>
<!-- Mimosa ignava was reclassified as Senegalia rostrata. -->
<!-- Mimosa intsia was reclassified as Senegalia intsia. -->
*''[[Mimosa invisa]]'' <small>Martius ''ex'' Colla</small>
*''[[Mimosa latidens]]'' <small>(Small) B.L. Turner</small>
*''[[Mimosa laxiflora]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
<!-- Mimosa leucophloea was reclassified as Vachellia leucophloea. -->
*''[[Mimosa loxensis]]'' <small>Barneby</small>
*''[[Mimosa malacophylla]]'' <small>Gray</small>
<!-- Mimosa martiusiana was reclassified as Senegalia martiusiana. -->
<!-- Mimosa mellifera was reclassified as Senegalia mellifera. -->
*''[[Mimosa microphylla]]'' <small>Dry.</small>
<!-- Mimosa muricata was reclassified as Parasenegalia muricata. -->
<!-- Mimosa nilotica was reclassified as Vachellia nilotica. -->
*''[[Mimosa nothacacia]]'' <small>Barneby</small>
<!-- Mimosa nudiflora was reclassified as Senegalia muricata. -->
*''[[Mimosa nuttallii]]'' <small>(DC.) B.L. Turner</small>
<!-- Mimosa oeforta was reclassified as Vachellia oeforta. -->
*''[[Mimosa ophthalmocentra]]'' <small>Mart. ex Benth. 1865</small>
*''[[Mimosa pellita]]'' <small>Kunth ex Willd.</small>
<!-- Mimosa pentagona was reclassified as Senegalia pentagona. -->
*''[[Mimosa pigra]]'' <small>L.</small>
<!-- Mimosa plana is an illegitimate binomial. -->
*''[[Mimosa polycarpa]]'' <small>Kunth</small>
*''[[Mimosa pudica]]'' <small>L.</small>
*''[[Mimosa quadrivalvis]]'' <small>L.</small>
**''Mimosa quadrivalvis'' var. ''hystricina'' <small>(Small) Barneby</small>
**''Mimosa quadrivalvis'' var. ''quadrivalvis'' <small>L.</small>
<!-- Mimosa retusa was reclassified as Senegalia riparia. -->
*''[[Mimosa roemeriana]]'' <small>Scheele</small>
<!-- Mimosa rostrata was reclassified as Senegalia rostrata. -->
*''[[Mimosa rubicaulis]]'' <small>Lam.</small>
<!-- Mimosa rugata was reclassified as Senegalia rugata. -->
*''[[Mimosa rupertiana]]'' <small>B.L. Turner</small>
<!-- Mimosa sarmentosa was reclassified as Senegalia riparia. -->
*''[[Mimosa scabrella]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
*''[[Mimosa schomburgkii]]'' <small>Benth.</small>
<!-- Mimosa senegal was reclassified as Senegalia senegal. -->
<!-- Mimosa senegalensis was reclassified as Senegalia senegalensis. -->
*''[[Mimosa somnians]]'' <small>Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.</small>
*''[[Mimosa strigillosa]]'' <small>Torr. et Gray</small>
<!-- Mimosa tamarindifolia was reclassified as Senegalia tamarindifolia. -->
*''[[Mimosa tenuiflora]]'' <small>(Willd.) Poir.</small> (= ''Mimosa hostilis'')
<!-- Mimosa tenuifolia was reclassified as Senegalia tenuifolia. -->
*''[[Mimosa texana]]'' <small>(Gray) Small</small>
<!-- Mimosa tomentosa was reclassified as Vachellia tomentosa. -->
<!-- Mimosa torta was reclassified as Senegalia torta. -->
<!-- Mimosa tortillis was reclassified as Vachellia tortillis. -->
*''[[Mimosa townsendii]]'' <small>Barneby</small>
*''[[Mimosa turneri]]'' <small>Barneby</small>
*''[[Mimosa verrucosa]]'' <small>[[George Bentham|Benth.]]</small>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikispecies}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150422151624/http://mimosa-pudica.de/e_index.html Mimosa-pudica.de]
* [http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/plantmotion/movements/nastic/mimosa/mimosa.html Two small videos showing the plant folding its leaves]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q160110}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mimosa| ]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Fabaceae genera]]
[[Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]