“Mimosa” is used for three different groups of plants. In the U.S., the mimosa tree is the silk tree (Albizia julibrissin), with pink, powder-puff flowers and fern-like leaves, and it has purple-leaved and weeping varieties. In Europe and at the florist, mimosa means the yellow-flowered acacias, especially silver wattle. And botanists use the name for the genus Mimosa, which is mostly shrubs, vines and small plants such as the sensitive plant, whose leaves fold up when touched. All three are legumes with feathery, twice-divided leaves and fluffy flowers made mostly of stamens.
Contents
Before you plant one, check your local invasive-species list. The silk tree is invasive across much of the Southeast, and silver wattle is invasive in California and other mild-winter regions.
- The Mimosa Tree (Silk Tree) and Its Varieties
- Yellow “Mimosa”: the Acacias
- True Mimosas (Genus Mimosa)
| Plant | Botanical name | Type | Height | Where it grows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mimosa Tree (Silk Tree) | Albizia julibrissin | Tree | 20–35 ft | Zones 6–9; invasive in the Southeast |
| ‘Summer Chocolate’ | Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ | Tree | 15–20 ft | Zones 6–9 |
| Chocolate Fountain | Albizia julibrissin ‘NCAJ1’ | Weeping tree | 10–15 ft | Zones 6–9 |
| ‘Rosea’ (Hardy Silk Tree) | Albizia julibrissin ‘Rosea’ | Tree | 20–25 ft | Zones 5–9 |
| Silver Wattle | Acacia dealbata | Tree | 30–50 ft | Zones 9–11; invasive in California |
| Cootamundra Wattle | Acacia baileyana | Tree | 15–30 ft | Zones 8–10 |
| Sweet Acacia | Vachellia farnesiana | Shrub or small tree | 15–25 ft | Zones 9–11; native to Mexico and South Texas |
| Sensitive Plant | Mimosa pudica | Perennial | 1–2 ft | Tropical; houseplant elsewhere |
| Fragrant Mimosa | Mimosa borealis | Shrub | 3–6 ft | Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas |
| Catclaw Mimosa | Mimosa aculeaticarpa | Shrub | 3–6 ft | Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, Mexico |
| Sensitive Brier | Mimosa quadrivalvis | Perennial vine | Stems 2–5 ft | Eastern and central U.S. |
| Giant Sensitive Plant | Mimosa diplotricha | Scrambling shrub | 6–10 ft | Tropical America; invasive in the Pacific and Asia |
| Himalayan Mimosa | Mimosa rubicaulis | Shrub | 6–10 ft | India and the Himalayan foothills |
| Bracatinga | Mimosa scabrella | Tree | 30–50 ft | Southern Brazil |
The Mimosa Tree (Silk Tree) and Its Varieties
Mimosa Tree (Silk Tree) (Albizia julibrissin)
The mimosa tree most Americans know is the silk tree, native from Iran to China and Korea. It is a fast-growing, spreading tree, 20 to 35 feet tall and often wider, with a flat, umbrella-like crown. The leaves are divided into hundreds of tiny leaflets, which fold together at night. In early to midsummer it is covered in fragrant, pink and white flowers that look like silky powder puffs, and hummingbirds and butterflies visit them. The flowers are followed by flat, papery seed pods. The trees are short-lived, often only 10 to 20 years, and prone to a fatal wilt disease and webworms. The seeds stay viable in the soil for years, and the tree now grows wild along roads, streams and forest edges from New Jersey to Texas. Many southern states list it as invasive.
‘Summer Chocolate’ (Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’)
‘Summer Chocolate’ is a Japanese variety with leaves that open green and turn deep burgundy-bronze in summer, a dramatic background for its pink flowers. It is smaller than the species, usually 15 to 20 feet tall. It still produces seed pods, so it is no better a choice where the silk tree is invasive.
Chocolate Fountain (Albizia julibrissin ‘NCAJ1’)
Chocolate Fountain is a weeping silk tree with purple-burgundy leaves, bred at North Carolina State University. Its branches arch and hang down, so it forms a small, cascading tree, usually 10 to 15 feet tall. It has the same pink powder-puff flowers as the species.
‘Rosea’ (Hardy Silk Tree) (Albizia julibrissin ‘Rosea’)
‘Rosea’ is a hardier form of the silk tree with deeper pink flowers, usually rated to zone 5. Hardiness is the main reason to grow it: the species often dies back in zone 6 winters. Like the species, it seeds itself.
Yellow “Mimosa”: the Acacias
These are the mimosas of the French Riviera and the florist’s shop. They are acacias from Australia, with bright yellow flower balls in late winter.
Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata)
Silver wattle is the flower sold as mimosa in Europe. It is a fast-growing evergreen tree from southeastern Australia, usually 30 to 50 feet tall, with silvery-green, feathery leaves. From late winter to early spring it is covered in fragrant, bright yellow, ball-shaped flower clusters. It spreads by seed and root suckers and is invasive in California, South Africa and parts of southern Europe.
Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia baileyana)
Cootamundra wattle is a smaller Australian acacia with feathery, blue-gray leaves and masses of golden-yellow flower balls in late winter. It grows 15 to 30 feet tall and is popular in California and other mild, dry climates. ‘Purpurea’ has purple new growth. It can also self-seed and become weedy.
Sweet Acacia (Vachellia farnesiana)
Sweet acacia is a thorny shrub or small tree of Mexico and South Texas, with feathery leaves and very fragrant, deep yellow flower balls in late winter and spring. It is used in perfume and is a tough, drought-tolerant landscape tree in the desert Southwest. It was long known as Acacia farnesiana.
True Mimosas (Genus Mimosa)
The genus Mimosa has about 500 species, most of them in the American tropics. Most are shrubs, vines or low plants, not trees, and many have leaves that fold up when touched.
Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica)
The sensitive plant is the most famous mimosa. Its leaves fold up within seconds when they are touched and reopen after a few minutes, and they also close at night. It is a sprawling, prickly plant 1 to 2 feet tall with small, round, pink flower heads. It comes from Central and South America. It is grown as a houseplant or annual in cool climates and is a troublesome weed in the tropics, including Hawaii and Florida.
Fragrant Mimosa (Mimosa borealis)
Fragrant mimosa, or pink mimosa, is a native shrub of dry, rocky slopes and grasslands in the southern Great Plains. It grows 3 to 6 feet tall, with small, feathery leaves, curved prickles and sweet-scented, bright pink flower balls in spring. It is a good, drought-tolerant choice for native plant gardens in its range.
Catclaw Mimosa (Mimosa aculeaticarpa)
Catclaw mimosa, also called wait-a-minute bush, is a thorny shrub of desert grasslands and canyons in the Southwest and northern Mexico. It grows 3 to 6 feet tall and forms dense thickets. Its hooked prickles catch on clothes and skin, which gives it both common names. In late spring and summer it has fluffy, white to pale pink flower balls.
Sensitive Brier (Mimosa quadrivalvis)
Sensitive brier is a native, sprawling perennial of prairies, glades, open woods and roadsides. Its thin, prickly stems trail 2 to 5 feet across the ground or over other plants, and its leaves fold when touched, like the sensitive plant’s. From late spring to late summer it has round, bright pink flower heads with yellow-tipped stamens, followed by narrow, prickly pods. Botanists treat the eastern and prairie forms, such as M. microphylla and M. nuttallii, either as varieties of this species or as separate species.
Giant Sensitive Plant (Mimosa diplotricha)
Giant sensitive plant is a thorny, scrambling shrub from tropical America that climbs over other plants to 6 to 10 feet. It has pink flower balls and leaves that fold when touched. It has become a serious invasive weed on Pacific islands, in Southeast Asia and in northern Australia, where it smothers crops and pastures. It is toxic to livestock.
Himalayan Mimosa (Mimosa rubicaulis)
Himalayan mimosa is a prickly shrub of dry hillsides and scrub across India and the lower Himalayas. It grows 6 to 10 feet tall, with leaves divided into many small leaflets. From late summer into fall it has small, round flower heads that open pink and fade to white. Farmers plant it as a thorny hedge.
Bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella)
Bracatinga is one of the few true mimosas that grows into a real tree, 30 to 50 feet tall. It comes from the cool highlands of southern Brazil and is one of the fastest-growing trees in the world, often several feet a year. It has small, cream to pale yellow flower balls in winter. Farmers plant it for firewood and to shade coffee and other crops, and, like other legumes, it adds nitrogen to the soil.
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