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For the Love Of Nature, Art and Bad Humor
A Comic Gallery of Creative Expression in the Pursuit of Knowledge
Powderpuff Mimosa
Mimosa strigillosa
(Sunshine Mimosa, Sensitive Plant)
Powderpuff- for its pink powderpuff flowers.
Mimosa- from the Greek mimos (mimic), because its leaves fold when touched, mimicking conscious life.
Powderpuff Mimosa is low-maintenance, helps with
erosion control, provides food for wildlife,
and is as delightful as it is useful.
It makes an excellent addition - or replacement -for your lawn. Because if you haven't heard, sod is so last decade - with its needy demand for constant water, fertilizer, mowing, and more water.
And what does sod give back?
Neighborhood HOA bragging rights perhaps - but at an environmental price. Traditional lawns are going out of fashion, replaced by native, low-growing ground covers
that work with the habitat instead of against it.
Powderpuff Mimosa is a great Florida-native alternative
for residential and commercial lawns - or just a solid addition to your yard or garden. It makes generous,
green ground cover, spreads quickly, controls weeds,
and needs no watering or fertilizer.
Plus its flowers are as adorable as its name - tiny pink pompoms with yellow-tipped stamens that pop up toward the sun like mini truffula trees from a Dr. Seuss book.
It blooms spring through fall, attracting butterflies and other pollinators and serving as a host for their larvae.
The leaves are just as charming: miniature, bright green, fern-like fronds that fold when touched - hence 'sensitive plant.' You touch, they fold. With attitude.
It's a long-lived perennial legume in the pea family (Fabaceae), and it can fill a bald spot in your yard like Rogaine on your uncle.
One plant can spread up to 100 feet wide. Its roots grow deep, helping with erosion control and retaining soil moisture. Root nodules host Rhizobium bacteria,
which help fix nitrogen in the soil.
It also feeds native wildlife: deer and caterpillars enjoy
the foliage, bees and other insects love the pollen,
and birds eat the seeds once flowers mature.
It looks fragile, with its filigree leaves and delicate
pink fluff-ball flowers, but is surprisingly resilient -
able to handle light foot traffic and mowing.
It spreads easily and mixes well with grass and other plants without overrunning them. Whether started from cuttings or container-grown, it only needs regular watering at first.
Once established, it's drought-tolerant, low-pest,
easy to control with pruning or mowing, and happy in
dry or moist soil. Pretty easy going, all around.
The only downside: It is not evergreen.
Leaves can turn yellow, brown, or disappear entirely during the cold months. But don't worry, it'll return in the spring. Otherwise, this low-maintenance ground cover is a popular and easy way to cut down on mowing, fertilizer runoff,
and irrigation-driven groundwater depletion.
In summary: you don't need to drink a mimosa
to realize how cool these mimosas are.
Powderpuff Mimosa - it kicks grass.
References:
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/powderpuff-mimosa.html
https://www.fnps.org/plant/mimosa-strigillosa
https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-mimosa-strigillosa/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa_strigillosa
Special thanks to Jay Exum, Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology for his expert fact checking!
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