Littleleaf Sensitive-briar

Mimosa microphylla

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

Mimosa microphylla — flower photograph — (c) Hill Craddock, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph · iNaturalist medium image; no additional crop, retouching, or re-encoding.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Mimosa

Adelphia petrellaRusty-Banded Adelphia
Ithome concolorellaKiawe Flower Moth
Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
Pleuroprucha insulsariaCommon Tan Wave
Pyrisitia lisaLittle Yellow, Little Sulphur, Lisa Yellow
Rudenia leguminanaBlack-Tipped Rudenia Moth
Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
Zale lunataLunate Zale

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

13BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Mimosa

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

0Specialist beesPollen specialists

4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Mimosa

Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Fabaceae
Flower color: Pink

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Flower color · “Pink” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Sun” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
primary_flower_color · “pink” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Soil · “Dry” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Also known as

Eastern Sensitive Briar; Eastern Sensitive Plant; Littleleaf Sensitive briar; Schrankia microphylla

Conservation status

Kentucky rank	Not available
Global rank	[G5]
KY status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your spot?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources