Fabaceae-Mimosoideae (Mimosaceae) Week: Mimosa himalayana from near Nagrota J & K

[Gurcharan Singh]

Mimosa himalayana Gamble in Kew Bull. 1920: 4. 1920.

syn: Mimosa rubricaulis sensu auct.; Mimosa rubricaulis subsp. himalayana (Gamble) H.Ohashi

A large deciduous shrub with ribbed densely hairy branches with straight or hooked up to 4 mm long prickles; leaf bippinate with up to 25 cm long rachis; pinnae 5-12 pairs, leaflets (pinnules) 6-15 pairs, 3-8 mm long; flowers pink fading to white in 12-15 mm across heads on up to 6 cm long peduncle, forming panicle; pod up to 10 cm long, 4-10 jointed, glabrous, with few prickles on sutures.

May be confused but easily differentiated from M. hamata, latter has shorter rachis (up to 5 cm long), few pairs of pinnae (3-6 pairs), fewer leaflets (6-10 pairs), smaller in size (2-3 mm long) in; shorter peduncle (2-3.5 cm) and shorter falcate pod (6-7 cm), velvety and densely prickly on sutures. 

Photographed from Near Nagrota (10 km from Jammu) in J & K in August

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Dr. Gurcharan Singh
Retired  Associate Professor
SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007
Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018.
Phone: 011-25518297  Mob: 9810359089
http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/

[Balkar Singh]

Lovely Shots Sir. This plant is very photogenic

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Regards

Dr Balkar Singh
Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology
Arya P G College, Panipat
Haryana-132103
09416262964

[Prashant Awale]

Nice upload and thanks Gurcharan Singh ji for giving the differences between M. himalayana and M. hamata.
Regards
Prashant