MIMOSA. 
415 
the bafis of feveral formulas; bait the bcft way of taking it 
Is in. an infufion in warm water with cinnamon or caflia. 
Native of Hindooftan, plentifully in the mountains. 
51. Mimola horrida, or horrid mimofa : fpines ftipu¬ 
lary, the length of the leaves; leaves bipinnate, partial 
ones fix-paired ; branches even. Branches angular, 
fmooth, with a brown bark. Spines in pairs white, pur¬ 
ple at the tip. Native of the Eaft and Welt Indies and 
Arabia. 
5a. Mimofa fera, or fierce mimofa : fpines branched ; 
leaves pinnate ; flowers in fpikes. This is a large tree 
with fpreading branches, and large, branched, ftraight, 
fcattered fpines. Native of China and Cochin-china ; 
where it is alfo planted for hedges, which are impenetra¬ 
ble by animals. 
53. Mimofa eburnea, or ivory-thorned mimofa : fpines 
ftipulary, connate, divaricating, round, awl-ihaped ; leaves 
bipinnate, leaflets fix-paired ; fpikes globular, peduncled, 
axillary, leveral. This is a fmall tree, remarkable alfo for 
its tremendous fpines, at the ends of the branches, next 
the flowers, where there are no leaves ; they are two inches 
long, connate at the bafe, very ftraight, round, comprefl'ed 
as in M. cornigera, Alining very much, and whitifh like 
ivory, red at the tip ; the Ipines on the lower part of the 
Item are very fliort. Peduncles from four to eight, in the 
axils of the fpines, each terminating in fmall yellow glo¬ 
bules of flowers. Native of the Ealt Indies. 
54. Mimofa latronum, or rogue’s mimofa: fpines fti¬ 
pulary, connate, divaricating, round, and awl-ftiaped; 
leaves bipinnate, leaflets four-paired ; fpikes elongated, 
peduncled, axillary, commonly in pairs. This is a very 
thorny, branching, deprefied, flirub. Spines lhining, the 
colour of milk over all the branches; long, very ftraight, 
divaricating. Flowers white. Native of the Eaft Indies; 
found by Koenig abundantly at the foot of Tripully- 
mountain, between Tanfchu and TirutSchinapally. Thel'e 
thorny mimofas, with their interwoven branches and ter¬ 
rible thorns, form impenetrable thickets in the moun¬ 
tainous parts of India, and are the fecure retreat of fmaller 
animals, birds, and rogues. 
55. Mimofa filicioides, or fern-like mimofa : unarmed; 
leaves bipinnate, partial ones fix-paired ; leaflets very nu¬ 
merous, very fmall, ciliate, without glands. Stem flirub- 
by, branched, three feet high, covered with a reddifli 
bark, rugged, very hairy, efpecially when young, as are 
alfo the petioles and peduncles. Native of Mexico 5 it 
flowered in the royal garden at Madrid in October. 
56. Mimofa tortuoia, or writhed mimofa : l'pines ftipu¬ 
lary ; leaves bipinnate, four-paired, a gland between the 
lowelt: pinnas iixteen-paired ; fpikes globular. This is 
a flirub, with a branching ftem and a brown bark. Spines 
in pairs, almoft united at the bafe, ftretched out, half an 
inch long. Flowers peduncled, in heads, yellow. Le¬ 
gume horned, roundilh, torulofe, drawn to a point at both 
ends, beaked, black; feeds obovate, black, comprefl'ed a 
little. Between the outer coat of the pod and the inner 
membrane feparating the feeds, there is a liquor of the 
confiftence and colour of a fyrup, which fmells very ftrong, 
and is bitter and aftringent. Browne fays, that this would 
prove an excellent medicine, where rough aftringents are 
requifite. The whole plant is bitter, and the flowers have 
a very ftrong fmell. Indeed the fmell of all the parts is lo 
rank and difagreeable, that it cannot be ufed even for 
fire-wood. It is chiefly ufed for hedges. The cattle are 
faid to browfe upon the tender flioots in dry weather, 
and their milk thereby becomes rank. Native of Jamaica, 
where it is common in the low lands 
common acacia or acacee bulh. 
57. Mimofa Farnefiana, Farnefian mimofa, or fponge- 
tree : fpines ftipulary, diftinft ; leaves bipinnate, partial 
ones eight-paired ; fpines globular, feflile. Flowers many- 
ftamened, very fragrant, yellow, in feifile heads, (Linn.) 
but Vahl fays they are always peduncled in the louth of 
Europe and Barbary; and Loureiro informs us that they 
are fo in Cochin-china. Native of St. Domingo and other 
iflands of the Well Indies, as Jamaica, Barbadoes, &c. ac¬ 
cording to Miller ; alfo of Barbary, Egypt, and Cochin- 
china, at leaft in a ftate of cultivation. For the fweet- 
nef's of its flowers it has been difperfed through mofc parts 
of Europe, has been made familiar to the Italian gardens, 
fince it was introduced into the Farnele garden in 1611, 
and is cultivated in great plenty in Spain and Portugal. 
The Italian gardeners, who bring over orange-trees, &c. 
hring alfo many young plants of this to England, under 
the name of Gazia. It was cultivated in 1731 by Mr. 
Miller, and flowers from June to Auguft. 
58. Mimofa Nilotica, Egyptian mimofa, or gum- 
tree: fpines ftipulary, fpreading; leaves bipinnate, the 
outer partial ones leparated by a gland : fpikes globular, 
peduncled. This tree arrives at a large fize in countries 
where it grows naturally; but in England is rarely feen 
more than eight or ten feet high. It has the habit ofM. 
Farnefiana and Senegal; from the firft it differs in having 
no callous dots upon the branches; from the fecond, in 
having the bark by no means white, but purple ; nor has 
it fpines in threes, like M. Senegal, but in pairs, and lon¬ 
ger than thofe of M. Farnefiana. Branches purple, even. 
Native of Egypt and Arabia : it was cultivated here in 
1664. 
According to Hafielquift, the Arabs call it cliarad ; 
and it is this, not M. Senegal, that produces gum arabic, 
frankincenfe, and l’uccus acacias. This fpecies and M. Se¬ 
negal growing together promilcuoully, the latter having 
by chance been brought to Europe inftead of the former, 
and Profper Alpinus not having diftinguilhed them, M. 
Senegal was generally believed to be the tree that pro¬ 
duced the above-mentioned gums; but the genuine tree 
was known only to thofe who cultivated it in Egypt, 
where they call the true one charad, and the other, which 
is of no value, fctue. They both grow in Lower Egypt, 
where they are planted in gardens; but they grow wild 
in the fandy defert, near the ancient lepulchres of the 
Egyptians, and this, or Acacia vera, is faid to grow plen¬ 
tifully in feveral parts of Upper Egypt. The gum is ga¬ 
thered in vaft quantities from the trees growing in Arabia 
Petrasa, near the north bay of the Red Sea, at the foot of 
Mount Sinai, whence is brought the thus, fo called by 
dealers in drugs in Egypt from Tliur or Thor, which is 
the name of a harbour in the north bay of the Red Sea, 
near Mount Sinai; thereby diltinguifhing it from the 
gum arabic, which is brought from Suez, not far from 
Cairo. The gum thus is alfo more pellucid and white ; 
whereas gum arabic is of a brown and dirty yellow colour, 
and generally opaque. 
59. Mimola ftellata, or ftarry mimofa : fpines ftipulary; 
leaves bipinnate; petioles having recurved prickles un¬ 
derneath ; flowers racemed. Native of Arabia. Lou¬ 
reiro has given the name of ftellata to a fpecies very dif¬ 
ferent from this, and which Wiildenow fuppofes may be 
the fame with M. verticiliata, N° 1. 
60. Mimola pigra, or flow American fenfitive plant: 
prickly, even; leaves bipinnate with oppofite prickles; 
fpine ere£t between each of the partial ones. The ftem 
has recurved prickles fcattered over it in pairs. Native 
of South America. 
61. Mimofa afperata, or hairy-podded fenfitive plant: 
prickly, rough-haired; leaves bipinnate with oppofite 
prickles, fpine eredt between each of the partial ones. 
This has a flirubby eredl llalk about five feet high, hairy, 
and armed with fliort broad ftrong thorns, which are white, 
ftanding on each fide, almoft oppofite, or alternate. Leaves 
and is called the yfive or lix paired, with a ftrong midrib, and between each 
pair two fliort ftrong fpines, pointing out each way. Leaf¬ 
lets extremely narrow, and very dole. Towards the up¬ 
per part of the ftalk the flowers are produced from the 
lides on fliort peduncles ; they are collected into globular 
heads, and are of a bright purple colour; the italks are 
alfo terminated by fmaller heads of the like flowers. 
According to Browne, it riles commonly to the height 
of l'even or eight feet. The fmaller branches and ribs are 
full 
