Catclaw Mimosa – Plant

LATIN NAME
Mimosa biuncifera

LONGEVITY
Perennial

SEASON
Cool

ORIGIN
Native

DETAILS:

• Deciduous shrub with branches that have thorns that appear as the claws of a cat, thus, “Catclaw”.
• Can range in size from three to 10 feet tall.
• Flowers from April to October.
• Deer will consume the leaves, and quail and other birds will eat the seed. Small mammals and birds use catclaw for protection, nesting, and roosting.
• Native Americans used the seed in a mush form for back pain relief.
• Adapted to dry gravelly mesas, sides of canyons, and banks of arroyos.

QUALITY TRAITS