Mimosa verrucosa, Jurema Branca ("White Juema") or Jurema De Oieras is a species of legume in the Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

 family.
It is a shrub or small tree native to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 (Bahia

Bahia

Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

, Ceará

Ceará

Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...

, Paraíba

Paraíba

Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...

, Pernambuco

Pernambuco

Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...

 and Rio Grande do Norte

Rio Grande do Norte

Rio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern region of the country, occupying the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. The capital and largest city is Natal...

). It has "near threatened" conservation status as a result of human induced deforestation in arid to semi-arid regions of Brazil.

Growth

The tree grows to about 2.5 to 5 m tall and has blossoms that are pink cylindrical spikes. The blossom filament

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s are pink and the anthers are cream colored.

Uses

The wood of the tree is used for making charcoal

Charcoal

Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...

, firewood and wooden stakes. The bark is used for medicine.

Characteristics

Mimosa verrucosa has been proven to be a very important provider of pollen

Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...

 for Apis mellifera, the European honey bee.

General references

• World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Mimosa verrucosa. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007.

External links

• Mimosa verrucosa herbarium specimen (NY Botanical Gardens): http://sweetgum.nybg.org/common/imagedisplay.php?irn=193195http://sweetgum.nybg.org/common/imagedisplay.php?irn=35164