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
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