Mimosa pigra

Common Name(s): Catclaw mimosa

Non-Native to Florida

Origin: Central America 1
Introduction to Florida: 1926 (ornamental) 2

This species appears on the following legally prohibited plant lists

Federal Noxious Weed List Florida Noxious Weed List Florida Prohibited Aquatic Plants List
Yes Yes Yes

UF-IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas

CATEGORY I on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s (FLEPPC) 2017 List of Invasive Plant Species

FWC WEED ALERT (PDF)

Download a recognition card (PDF) from Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know3

Download a page (PDF) from Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas – Second Edition1

Control information: Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida (EDIS publication SP 242)4

More Resources

    Mimosa pigra is rarely found growing in wet, disturbed sites in Highlands, Okeechobee, Martin, Broward and Palm Beach counties. It is native to tropical America and blooms from spring to summer (Wunderlin, 2003).

     

    Appearance

    Sprawling, often thicket-forming shrub to 6 m (20 ft) tall, with hairy stems bearing numerous recurved prickles to 7 mm (0.3 in) long.

    Leaves

    Alternate, twice compound, sensitive to touch; leaf petiole and rachis to 20 cm (8 in) long, prickles at junctions, 5–12 pairs of pinnae; each pinna with 24–31 pairs of leaflets, these to 8 mm (0.3 in) long, often with threadlike hairs on margins.

    Flowers

    Small, mauve to pink, in stalked, dense, spherical heads; about 1 cm (0.5 in) across, with about 100 flowers per head; 8 stamens.

    Fruit

    A brown-bristly, segmented, flat pod to 8 cm (3 in) long and 1.4 cm (0.5 in) wide, with the 9–24 segments breaking free individually; each containing a seed. Pods in clusters, or “hands” (of usually 7) at stem tips.

    Ecological threat

    Has formed dense understories in swamps, shading out native tree seedlings and altering bird, reptile, and vegetation communities. FLEPPC Category I

    Distribution

    C, SW, SE

    Text from Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know – Recognition Cards 2

     

     

    More Resources

    View the herbarium specimen image from the
    University of Florida Herbarium Digital Imaging Projects.

    St. Johns River Water Management District

    Financial support for this web page provided by the St. Johns River Water Management District (FL).

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    Citations

    1. Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas – Second Edition,
    by K.A. Langeland, H.M. Cherry, et al. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 257. 2008.

    2. Strangers in Paradise, Impact and Management of Nonindigenous Species in Florida, Chapter 2: Florida’s Invasion by Nonindigenous Plants: History, Screening, and Regulation, by D.R.
    Gordon and K.P. Thomas, pp. 21-37. Island Press, Washington, DC, 1997.

    3. Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know – Recognition Cards,
    by A. Richard and V. Ramey. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 431. 2007.

    4. Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida, by K. A. Langeland, J. A. Ferrell, B. Sellers, G. E. MacDonald, and R. K. Stocker. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 242. 2011.

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