Mimosa
by Lisa Wooten
Title
Mimosa
Artist
Lisa Wooten
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μιμος (mimos), an "actor" or "mime," and the feminine suffix –osa, "resembling", suggesting its 'sensitive leaves' which seem to 'mimic conscious life'.[1][2]
Two species in the genus are especially notable. One is Mimosa pudica, because of the way it folds its leaves when touched or exposed to heat. It is native to southern Central and 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 weedy 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. Members of this genus are among the few plants capable of rapid movement; examples outside of Mimosa include the telegraph plant, Aldrovanda, some species of Drosera and the famous 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 Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan on mimosas in 1729 provided the first evidence of biological clocks.[3]
Mimosa can be distinguished from the large related genera, Acacia and Albizia, since its flowers have 10 or fewer stamens. Note that, botanically, what appears to be a single globular flower is actually a cluster of many individual ones. Mimosa contains some level of heptanoic acid.Wikipedia
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September 2nd, 2018
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