Mimosa Strigillosa, Sunshine, Powderpuff, and Thornless

About a year ago I ordered Mimosa seeds. I did not realize there are different varieties of Mimosa and I got the “Sensitive Plant” or “Shameplant”. It is called Mimosa pudica.

What I wanted was the Sunshine Mimosa I had heard so much about. Plant it in the yard to replace grass and feed the insects. Brighten the landscape with pretty pink, puffy flowers. It does not have thorns.

I made a big mistake when I ordered the wrong seeds. The seeds I grew became plants with thorns on the stems.

The One With Thorns

Once my mimosa seeds began to grow, I was so happy. Then, I noticed thorns on the stems. Because the Sunshine Mimosa is known as an excellent ground cover, I was baffled. No one would walk barefoot on this! Animals would hurt their feet as well. I thought I had been steered wrong.

I gave up on Mimosa.

Recently, I saw a post on Instagram by The Urban Harvest. The post was about alternative ground covers, including Sunshine Mimosa. I left a comment that it has thorns, and was quickly corrected. “Sunshine Mimosa does NOT have thorns”. Any they are correct!

So what the heck did I have? I took this photo of the plant in my yard and discovered that it is a mimosa, but the wrong kind. See those thorns? I will probably rip this one out.

The Sunshine Mimosa is Mimosa strigillosa, or “Powderpuff” and is thornless – and N O T Mimosa quadrivalvis, or pudica. Be sure to know which type you are getting.

Be careful, because the different varieties look very much alike. They both get pink, puffy flowers and have leaves that close up when touched. Both types sprawl, but the thorny one grows taller.

The huge difference is that one has thorns, and the other can be used to replace your grassy yard with a blooming, soft, ground cover.

Where Can I Get a Sunshine Mimosa?

The trouble I had a year ago was that I wanted this ground cover for my yard. I looked for plants and seeds and found NONE. All I found was mimosa seeds from Eden Brothers and so I bought them, not realizing I’d ordered the incorrect type.

The info in the pink box comes from the Florida Wildflower Foundation website. And, YAY they have a link to a place to buy seeds…. but, guess what? No results.

All my favorite online places don’t have seeds. I get very frustrated when I live in Florida and yet have such trouble buying native plants.

I still can’t find Sunshine Mimosa seeds to buy.

I’ll be ripping up the one that has thorns. I don’t want my cats hurting their feet.

Garden blogging…