Kingdom Plantae Subfamily Mimosoideae Scientific name Mimosa somnians Order Fabales | Family Fabaceae Genus Mimosa Rank Species | |
Similar Sensitive plant, Mimosa verrucosa, Mimosa ophthalmocentra, Mimosa turneri, Mimosa arenosa | ||
Mimosa somnians ("Dormideira") is a tree in the Fabaceae family. It is native to the Caribbean, Central America and South America. It is a short, low-lying shrub with minuscule thorns lining its stems like hairs. Its leaves are sensitive, meaning that, when touched, they close quickly, similarly to Mimosa pudica. It can be differentiated from Mimosa pudica in that its leaves are bipinnate, there are more than four subbranchlets and these originate from more than one point on the branch.
Contents
Mimosa sominans's leaflets are 4–5 mm long. The flowers form pink balls. It propagates by seeds.
Forms, subspecies and varieties
Uses
In Guyana, it is used to calm down irritable children via washing.
Chemical constituents
Mimosa somnians contains (whole plant) about 0.029% tryptamine and about 0.029% methyltryptamine.