Mimosa albida

Native from Mexico through Central America to Venezuela and Peru, this plant is a scrambling shrub associated with seasonally dry tropical habitats. In Colombia it also occurs along forest margins and in regenerating vegetation. Its young stems are hairy and bear prickles that curve backward. White or pink flowers are grouped in rounded heads, followed by small, flat, hairy seedpods. It can grow as a weed in pastures and cultivated fields. Photographed in the central Andes mountain range of Colombia.