Mimosa pudica is a common weed found in tropical climes.
The word 'mimosa' in Greek means 'mimic' referring to the
sensitivity of the leaves. The Latin 'pudica' stands for
bashful or shrinking.
A native of Brazil it has adapted so well here that one
variety, Mimosa rubicalis, is considered a threat to the
grasslands of Assam's best known wildlife sanctuary,
the Kaziranga National Park.
May was the month when we were invaded by an army of
caterpillars. The more spectacular ones remained elusive
this year. But this one grabbed my attention!
A variety of Eugenia (related to the Indian Blackberry)
blooming in April. I took this photo as I was passing by
this area.
Just look at the colour! And the similarity with the blooms!
The blooms of the Golden Cane Palm attracted a great number
of bees and other flying objects. That was also in May.
An instar (wonder which species?) I discovered on a
banana leaf.
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Ah, did someone say, 'Three's a crowd....?'
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16 comments:
Mimosa has taken over here too. It is a rather seedy pesky tree, but so pretty when in bloom. I wouldn't touch those caterpillars, it looks like those hairs might sting. And it hurts as I know. I watch out for them now:)
Mimosa Pudica is a difficult weed to remove. Its roots hold the dry earth so tightly! It can also survive without water for long periods.
Lotusleaf
I love the new header picture too - what incredible detail Kanak. Funny how something as pretty as the Mimosa can be such a problem plant. I hope you have a lovely day and we so appreciate your prayers.
It's a weed tree here too, you see it everywhere. Occasionally I have seedlings popping up in my garden which I promptly remove. Too bad since it really has pretty foliage & blooms. :(
Mimosa pudica is common around here, too. We have several Eugenia sp. in Bermuda but e. uniflora (Surinam Cherry) is the most widely seen.
Hi Kanak, your new header picture is so cute! I enjoyed this post much. Love the bloom of the Eugenia.
I got a big smile out of ever blossom/bug pairing. Those fuzzy caterpillars are so cute! I have seen mimosa as trees, are these different? I did notice that there are many volunteers around the big trees, maybe that's the invasive part. Too bad, it's such a lovely and delicate-looking species.
Those were really great comparisons. I almost never see any caterpillars here, and these fuzzy ones are really neat.
ok, the bird pics are funny!!!
Love your mimosa and mimosa looking blooms and creatures:)
Good morning everyone! Thank you for your comments. The mimosa I've posted is a ground cover. And I thought it wasn't a pest everywhere. I'd seen some ads online and I assumed the invasiveness part wasn't there. So much for assumptions! I know better now!!
Tina/ Racquel, thank you for this bit of info.
Padma, welcome! And thank you for stopping by.
Mildred/Susie, the header photo is of the Peacock Pansy. It simply stared at me and did not budge!
I've never felt so lucky!!
Prospero, thank you for mentioning the Surinam Cherry. Must be sweet?
Karen, I'd been thinking about the pairing since April!! Glad that I could finally post. It's all blooms ruling my head...well, mostly!
Carla, thanks!! And am I glad you notised the birds!:-)
Hi Catherine, thank you so much! Happy that you stopped by.
Hi Kanak, the new Header looks great!Amazing details.Nice comparison and similarity,specially the Eugenia and the caterpillar.
Everytime I find creatures that I have not seen before here. Your findings are always so interesting. Yeah, they do look like those flowers here. Ok, I would be careful not to touch simply touch anything for I might be touching those little creepy crawlies... ;-)
Those certainly were interesting comparisons Kanak, I've just been catching up with your last few posts and I loved the butterflies on the previous one. The dragonflies on the June 28th post were stunning, particularly for me the Trithemis aurora, I have to keep going back to it, I think I could look at it all day it is so beautiful!
Ruby/Arun, glad you liked the comparison, and the header!
Steph, earlier I could never even bear to look at hairy caterpillars. But gardening has helped me overcome that feeling.
Jan, thank you so much! I'm so glad to know you liked the winged ones. While googling to find out the name of the pink one I came across many amazing shots on the net. But in real life, that's the one and only time I've seen it. But I'm still hoping.
It is hard to tell the caterpillar from the flower. I assume the hairs provide protection from being eaten - they are definitely going to stick in a predator's throat!
EG, I'm sure birds get the big, obvious hint!:)
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