Pretty Pink Poof

Sunshine mimosa (Mimosa strigilosa) – in the right spot – can serve as a substitute for lawn grass, as shown in this photo from Carol Thomas, a member of the Eugenia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society who works at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory …

Sunshine mimosa grows low, produces pretty pink ‘poofs’ about the size of a nickel, and co-mingles well with lawn grasses, responding to regular moving with shortened flower stalks …

A member of the pea family (Fabaceae), this plant fixes nitrogen — as well as has wildlife value: It attracts pollinators and is a larval food source for the little sulphur butterfly. The Florida Nursery Growers Association named it to be their plant of the year in 2008.