The Mimosa is a part of the Fabaceae family, or pea family. It has more than 16,000 members in its classification. The Mimosa tenuiflora has quite a few names depending on where it has set down its shallow root system. It is also called:

• Jurema Preta
• Calumbi in Brazil
• Tepezcohuite in Mexico
• Carbonal
• Carbrera
• Juerma
• Black Jurema
• Binho de Jurema
• Pudica, or the sensitive plant
• Albizia Julibrissin, also known as the silk tree.

The lovely name Mimosa is derived from the delicate leaves that line up on the fern-like branches. The leaves each contain between 15 to 33 pairs of leaflets that are just a quarter-inch long on average.