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Sunshine Mimosa

Sunshine Mimosa
Are you looking for a native groundcover that attracts pollinators and looks beautiful all year long? Sunshine mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa) is a fast-growing ground cover with adorable pink puffballs. It’s sometimes called “powderpuff mimosa”.
A popular trait of sunshine mimosa is the nastic response. When the leaves are touched it alters the turgor pressure in the extensor cells and causes the leaves to retract. When this happens potassium and chloride molecules leave the cells. This leads to osmosis, a mechanism that occurs when water flows towards the higher salt concentration. In this case, water flows out of those cells and reduces the turgor pressure so the leaves will close.
Do you have sunshine mimosa in your yard? What is your favorite quality of this plant?
Photo Credit: Aymee Laurain
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Butterfly Pea

Spurred Butterfly Pea, Fabaceae (Leguminosae) is a native climbing or twining vine that grows up to 6 feet long. Look for this perennial in the wild throughout Florida in a variety of places including in sandhills, pinelands, and coastal plains.

Butterfly Pea is dormant in the winter and pinkish-purple flowers appear from spring through fall in most of Florida. In the southern counties, it blooms all year-round. Long-tailed skippers and northern cloudywings rely on the Butterfly pea for a host plant.

Because it adapts to many soils, Butterfly Pea can be a wonderful addition to your butterfly garden. Train it to climb a fence or use it as a ground cover. It propagates by seed and thrives in part shade or full sun.

Photo Credit ~Dan Kon – The Blue Hole Big Pine Key

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