Mimosa diplotricha (vine, climber, shrub)

Ecology Distribution Management Info Impact Info References and Links Contacts

General Impact Mimosa diplotricha is a major weed of cultivated areas and has the ability to climb over other plants (Schultz 2000). In the Kaziranga National Park in northeast India, the weed forms a thorny mat over the natural vegetation, preventing animals from accessing and utilising natural vegetation (N. Gureja, pers. comm. 2003). In Australia the weed chokes out cane, other crops and grassland, causing crop and pasture loss (DPIF, 2007).          Location Specific Impacts: Australia   Economic/Livelihoods: Mimosa diplotricha is a serious pest of cane fields, roadsides and wet coastal pastures (Schultz 2000). Kaziranga National Park (India)   Threat to endangered species: The grasslands of the Kaziranga National Park are threatened by two exotic species of Mimosa: M. rubicaulis and M. diplotricha. The weeds have rapidly spread across the grasslands and hampered the growth of the palatable grasses, thereby threatening the rhinoceros as well as ungulates. Kaziranga National Park is a vital habitat for the world's largest population of the great one-horned Rhinoceros (see Rhinoceros unicornis in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species). Niue   Human nuisance: Mimosa diplotricha is reported as a "particularly nasty plant that is covered with thorns" that forms dense tangles which are difficult to walk through.