mimosa (mĭmōˈsə) [key], any tree, shrub, or herb of the genus
Mimosa of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), chiefly
tropical plants. They usually have feathery foliage and rounded
clusters of fragrant pinkish flowers atop the branches. Mimosas
are used for ornamental purposes in warm regions. The yellow-
flowered plants sold as mimosa by florists are usually of the
related genus Acacia (see acacia). Most widely known of the
mimosas is the sensitive plant ( M. pudica ), considered a weed
in the American tropics but cultivated as a greenhouse annual
elsewhere because its leaves fold up and collapse under stimulus
(e.g., touch, darkness, or drought) until the whole plant may
assume temporarily a thoroughly wilted appearance. It is now
naturalized in many warm regions and grows wild in the Gulf
states. The name sensitive plant is also applied to other plants
of this family that show similar movements. Mimosa is classified
in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order
Rosales, family Leguminosae. The