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Mimosa microphylla
Sensitive Brier
Littleleaf Sensitive-brier
Synonym(s): Mimosa quadrivalvis angustata
Florida native
A frequent perennial of sandhills, flatwoods and mesic hammocks throughout most of Florida. The range includes the southeastern states north into Virginia and Kentucky, west into Louisiana and Texas, plus Kansas and Illinois.
This is a low-growing wildflower with prickles on the stems, leaves, peduncles and fruit. The alternate leaves are bi-pinnate (twice compound), with each pinna having 12-16 pairs of leaflets. The small leaflets are linear with a minutely pointed tip (mucronate) and only the midvein evident on the underside. The fruit is a legume with branching prickles that are only slightly curved.
Mimosa microphylla is a member of the Fabaceae - Pea family.
Other species of the Mimosa genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Mimosa floridana - FLORIDA SENSITIVE BRIER
Mimosa strigillosa - POWDERPUFF
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jun 10, 2020
