Mimosa grahamii

Kearney and Peebles, 1969

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Shrub General: Low-growing, armed shrub, erect to spreading, to 80 cm tall thorns opposite, cat-claw shaped, thorns opposite, the stems striated, tan to brown in color. Leaves: Pinnately compound leaves, 5-10 cm long including the petiole, leaflets not crowded, 3-6 mm long, 8-15 pairs per pinna, oblong, distinctly veined. Flowers: Flowers small, sessile, white to pink, in many flowered globose heads or spikes, these flowers have long-exserted, colorful stamens, which appear to be the flower, and give the flower the appearance of a fluffy spike or ball. Fruits: Pods with armed margins, the pods often somewhat contorted, with slight restrictions between the pods, glabrous or slightly pubescent. Ecology: Found from 4,000-6,000 ft (1219-1829 m); flowering April-August. Notes: According to Kearney and Peebles, there used to be a variety of this species, Mimosa Grahami var. Lemmoni which was distinguished from the parent species by the entire plant being highly pubescent, now however, the species and the variety have been joined and are now considered a single species, M. grahami. Ethnobotany: Unknown Etymology: Unknown Synonyms: Mimosa grahamii var. lemmonii Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011