Identification
This erect native perennial grows 2-6 feet tall. Leaves are divided into branches which are again divided into 20-30 pairs of tiny leaflets (bipinnately compound). Many small, white to greenish-white, 5-petaled flowers with projecting yellow stamens produce cottony, globe-shaped flower clusters 1/2 inch in diameter (B). Flower clusters are attached to long, erect 1-3 inch stalks arising from the junction of the leaf and stem (A). The fruit is a rounded cluster of 20-30 curved or twisted, flat, brown pods holding light brown seeds, persisting through the winter (C).
This prairie plant grows in moist or dry soils and flowers from July through August. It is uncommon in some of the prairie restorations at Neale Woods.
This nutritious plant, preferred by livestock, is perhaps our most important native legume. The sensitive leaflets fold up in strong winds or when touched. Meriwether Lewis collected this plant on July 30, 1804, a few miles north of Neale Woods, noting it “grows in the praries [sic] in high situations.”
Other common names include Prairie Mimosa and False Sensitive Plant.
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