"Mimosa pigra" is native to tropical America, where it occurs in a wide belt extending from Mexico through Central America to Northern Argentina.It is now widespread throughout the tropics and is a serious weed in Africa, India, South-East Asia (in Cambodia, it is called ព្រះខ្លបយក្ស /prĕəh kʰlɑːp jĕəʔ/ “giant mimosa,” បន្លាយួន /bɑnlaː juən/ “Vietnamese thorn”, or បន្លាយក្ស /bɑnlaː jĕəʔ/ “giant’s thorn”), Australia and some Pacific Islands.