Powderpuff (Mimosa strigillosa)

Description: Magical, spherical flowers composed of inch-long, purplish pink stamens, each tipped with a tiny dot of bright yellow pollen. Excellent fine-textured ground cover that withstands mowing. Larval plant for several butterflies. Drought tolerant once established.

Lifespan: Perennial

Light exposure: Full sun to high pine shade

Bloom color: Pink

Bloom season: Spring to summer

Height: 6 inches

Habitat: Moist to mesic pinelands, streambanks, disturbed areas

Germination Note: Seeds have hard, water impermeable seed coats that prevent germination. Lightly abrading the hard seed coats on sandpaper or a concrete surface (“scarification”) for a few seconds will allow the seeds to absorb water and germinate. To test whether the seed coats have been abraded enough, place a few of the abraded seeds in a shallow dish of water. Sufficiently scarified seeds will swell noticeably within an hour or two; swollen seeds must be sown immediately.  If most seeds do not swell, repeat the abrasion process and retest.  Scarified seeds should be sown within a week or two.

Each packet covers 10 square feet.

Read the Florida Wildflower Foundation's profile of Powderpuff.