Does the Mimosa Plant Flower? Get to Know Its Common Varieties

The mimosa plant is one I believe everyone is familiar with. Its plant form is loose and spreading, its feathery leaves are slender and elegant, and it looks very shy and charming. It is fair to say that the mimosa has been a very popular ornamental plant in recent years. In addition, the mimosa is highly adaptable and is distributed all over the world, with about 56 genera and 2,800 species. So will the mimosa bloom? And what are its common varieties? Let's find out together.

Will the mimosa actually bloom?

The answer is yes. The mimosa's flowering period is roughly between July and October. From bud to bloom takes about 5 days, and after flowering it forms seed pods in autumn, which drop off between the segments when ripe. In addition, the mimosa's flowers are fuzzy and a pale purple-pink, very pretty.

The reason the mimosa is "shy" is closely tied to its native environment. To avoid harm from harsh weather, when the first drop of rain lands on a mimosa leaf, it promptly and effectively closes its leaflets and drops its leaf stalks. This is the self-adaptation of the biological world.

What common varieties of mimosa are there?

1. Thornless mimosa (Mimosa pigra var. inermis): The thornless mimosa is a subshrub-like herbaceous plant with head-like inflorescences and purplish-red flowers. It generally flowers and fruits from March to September. In addition, the thornless mimosa has slender, dense stems and leaves and strong coverage ability, so it not only beautifies the environment and ground cover, but also has good medicinal effects for calming the nerves and relieving pain.

2. Thorny mimosa: The thorny mimosa is a thorny perennial herbaceous plant with small flowers, bisexual or polygamous, in cylindrical spike-like inflorescences. The main feature of the thorny mimosa is that the number of stamens equals the number of petals, or is twice the number of petals, and the whole plant can be used as medicine, also with a good calming effect.

3. Sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia, mimosa senna): Sicklepod is a perennial subshrub-like sprawling herbaceous plant. Compared with ordinary mimosa, the sicklepod's plant form is much taller, and its leaves are longer, about 4-8 cm. It flowers from August to September and fruits from October to December. Sicklepod often grows on wasteland and is a good soil-improving plant as well as a good green manure; its stems and leaves can also be used as a tea substitute.

4. White leadtree (Leucaena leucocephala, smooth-pod mimosa): The white leadtree has the reputation of "king of hedges." Its head-like inflorescences are spherical, and its flowers are pure white and fragrant, like auspicious snow. The plant is 3-6 m tall, with thornless branchlets, and its flowering period is generally from June to September.

The above is an introduction to mimosa flowering and varieties. Overall, don't assume from the name that the mimosa cannot bloom; in fact it can, and it is very beautiful. In addition, there are many mimosa varieties, but due to their adaptability to the growing environment, the overall differences between varieties are not great.

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Recommended reading: Why does the mimosa plant get "shy"? What uses does it have? Is it toxic?