Mimosa rubicaulis

Mimosa rubicaulis is a shrub belonging to the family Fabaceae and subfamily Mimosoideae. It is bipinnately compound, each leaf having 8–12 pairs of pinnae, each with 16–20 pairs of pinnules,[2] unlike Mimosa pudica which has at most two prickly pairs of leaflets. It is found across India.[1]

Mimosa rubicaulis
Mimosa rubicaulis in Panchkhal valley
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Mimosa
Species:
M. rubicaulis
Binomial name
Mimosa rubicaulis
Synonyms[1]

Mimosa octandra
Mimosa intsi
Mimosa barberi
Mimosa himalayana

Description

Mimosa rubicaulis is a large, straggling, very prickly shrub. It flowers from June to September, sporting long clusters of many pink spherical flower heads 1–1.5 cm across. The flowers fade to white, so the clusters sport both pink and white flower-heads most of the time. Leaves are double-compound, 8–15 cm long, with thorny rachis. Leaves have 3–2 pairs of side-stalks, each with 6–15 pairs of tiny oblong leaflets 4–8 mm. Pods are thin, flat, curved, 8–13 cm long, 1 cm wide, breaking into 4–10 rectangular single-seeded units, leaving the remains of the pod attached to the shoot.[3]

It is considered useful for hedges. The wood is suitable for tent pegs and for making gunpowder charcoal. Roots and leaves are used medicinally. Himalayan Mimosa is found in the Himalayas, from Afghanistan to Bhutan, at altitudes of 300–1900 m. It prefers forest edges and boundaries of fields and gardens.[3]

References
  1. "Mimosa.rubicaulis". JStor Plant Science.
  2. Manandhar, N. P. (2002). Plants and people of Nepal. p. 329. ISBN 9780881925272.
  3. G. P. Roy (1992). Flora of Madhya Pradesh: Chhatarpur and Damoh. APH Publishing. pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-81-7024-457-8.


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