Mimosa ceratonia
Diagnostic description 4
Mimosa ceratonia L, Sp. Pl. 523. 1753.
Synonym: Lomoplis ceratonia (L.) Raf.
Woody vine, climbing, much branched, that supports itself on other plants by means of spines that are borne along the length of its stem and leaf axes, attaining 2-6 m in length. Stems green or with a reddish tinge, obtusely quadrangular, glabrous, striate, with numerous recurved spines, becoming almost cylindrical and grayish when mature. Leaves alternate, 7-15 cm long, bipinnate; pinnae 4 or 5, pairs opposite; rachis sulcate, with numerous recurved spines; leaflets opposite, 3-8 pairs per pinna, 1-1.5 cm long, obliquely obovate to almost rounded, chartaceous, the apex rounded, the base rounded-obtuse, asymmetrical, the margins slightly revolute, sometimes ciliate; upper surface dark green, dull, glabrous; lower surface pale green, dull, with prominent venation; stipules 8-10 mm long, lanceolate. Heads 1.3-1.7 cm in diameter, in terminal racemes; peduncles 1-2 cm long, with numerous recurved spines. Calyx 0.7-1 mm long, glabrous; corolla pink, infundibuliform, ca. 2 mm long, with three petals or lobes; filaments white, 4-6 mm long. Legumes flattened, straight or slightly curved, 4-6 × 1.5-1.7 cm, coriaceous, dehiscent by the walls that separate from the thickened margin, covered with recurved spines. Seeds 7-8 mm long, oblongelliptical, flattened, dark brown.
Phenology: Flowering from June to January and fruiting from December to March.
Status: Native, very common.
Selected Specimens Examined: Acevedo-Rdgz., P. 5152; 10512; Britton, N.L. 897; 1645; Goll, G.P. 406; Heller, A.A. 220; 6388; Shafer, J.A. 2717; Sintenis, P. 5050; Stevenson, J.A. 251; Underwood, L.M. 663.
Distribution 5
Distribution: On roadsides and in pastures at lower and middle elevations. Also on Vieques, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda; Hispaniola and the Lesser Antilles as far as St. Vincent, reported for Venezuela.
Public Forests: Cambalache, Carite, El Yunque, Guajataca, Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, and Toro Negro.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10351486
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10359147
- (c) "<a href=""http://nt.ars-grin.gov/"">ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory</a>. Puerto Rico.", some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=mice_001_ahp.tif
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435416
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435881
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- World Flora Online
