By Any Name!

  Since I posted a list of "odd facts" about the gardenia flower, I thought it would be only proper to do the same about the mimosa flower.  The two are blooming at the moment here on the Bayou making the hillside a regular fashion show of pink and white.  My sweet granddaughter would be loving this if she was here!

  Odd fact....mimosa trees have bipinnate leaves made up of small, oblong leaflets.  These leaflets close up at night and reopen when the morning sun hits them.

  Odd fact....these leaves can also sense movement.  Scientists believe that the closing is a way of repelling annoying insects.

  Odd fact....mimosas produce flowerheads that contain many flowers that have a soft fluffy appearance.  This fluffiness is do to the long hot pink stamens!

  Odd fact...the dried seed pods rattled by the wind can sometimes fool a person into thinking a rattlesnake is nearby.

  Odd fact....mimosa is a highly invasive plant that is nigh on impossible to kill.  If you do not remove all pieces of root, the tree will just sprout up again and will have several trunks to replace the one. Mimosa is a great tree to use for "sustainable" firewood.  It is fast growing and multiplies quickly.

  Odd fact....mimosa pudica, the scientific name, means shy or bashful plant and is due to the leaf folding habit.

  Odd fact...and perhaps the oddest of the bunch....what we call mimosas here on the Coast are not mimosas at all.  We have albizias (also spelled albezias or albizzias)  It is a beautiful tree with flower similar to mimosa and the "odd facts" still apply to this tree as well! Almost anyway...the name one, of course, does not apply!  Now, go figure!