Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera – Catclaw Mimosa

Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera - Catclaw Mimosa, Wait-a-minute Bush, Wait-a-bit

Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera - Catclaw Mimosa, Wait-a-minute Bush, Wait-a-bit

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Mimosa aculeaticarpa var. biuncifera

Synonyms: Mimosa biuncifera, M. lindheimeri, M. warnockii, Mimosopsis biuncifera

Common Names: Catclaw Mimosa, Wait-a-minute Bush, Wait-a-bit

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Deciduous

Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert (upper elevation), Upland

Flower Color: White to tinged pinkish

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer

Height: To 8 feet (2.4 m) tall

Description: The flower clusters are on slender stalks that emerge from the leaf axils. The individual flower clusters are ball-shaped and 5/8 inch (1.6 cm) across. The flowers are followed by narrow, flat, 2 inch (5 cm) long, brown seedpods. The leaves are green and bipinnately compound with numerous tiny, elliptical leaflets. The slender, arching branches have wickedly sharp, curved, cat claw-like, red-brown thorns.

Special Characteristics

Allergenic – The pollen is a mild allergen.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae – Pea family
Genus: Mimosa L. – sensitive plant
Species: Mimosa aculeaticarpa Ortega – catclaw mimosa
Variety: Mimosa aculeaticarpa Ortega var. biuncifera (Benth.) Barneby – catclaw mimosa

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map