Flower profile
Catclaw briar
Mimosa nuttallii
Catclaw briar (Mimosa nuttallii) is a flowering plant in the Fabaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly May–June across the U.S.
Catclaw briar is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states.
*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.
On our lists for: Arkansas
Quick look
Mimosa nuttallii, the Nuttall's sensitive-briar, catclaw brier, or sensitive brier, is an herbaceous perennial legume in the subfamily Mimosoideae native to the central United States. It has a trailing semi-woody vine covered with small recurved prickles that can be painful to bare skin.
- It belongs to the Fabaceae family. iNaturalist
- USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. USDA PLANTS
- USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 16 states. USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe lists it as native to Arkansas. NatureServe
- iNaturalist has 684 research-grade sightings of it in Arkansas, ranking #70 among the 170 flowers on our Arkansas list. iNaturalist
When does it bloom?
Conservation status
- Federal (U.S. ESA)
- Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
- NatureServe global
- T5 See NatureServe for what T5 means. NatureServe
- Arkansas
- No list Arkansas has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Arkansas ranks instead. NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Arkansas.
- Rare elsewhere
- Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: CO (S1), IA (S1), IL (S1). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)
Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.
Can you eat it?
None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.
It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.
🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.
Where does it grow?
USDA PLANTS records catclaw briar in 16 states plus Washington, D.C.
recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded
See the full list of states
Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin; District of Columbia.
Arkansas counties with USDA records: Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Clark, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Crawford, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Hempstead, Independence, Izard, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Madison, Marion, Miller, Monroe, Nevada, Newton, Perry, Pike, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Scott, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone, Union, Washington, Yell.
Names, range and relatives
Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Leptoglottis nuttallii, Schrankia nuttallii.
County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 438 counties across 15 states; the most are in Kansas (103), Missouri (81), Texas (74).
Other Mimosa on Bloomipedia (3): Sunshine mimosa, Littleleaf sensitive-briar, Sensitive plant.
More from the Fabaceae family (114 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Lupines, White clover, Red clover, Eastern redbud, Purple crownvetch, Bird's-foot trefoil, Partridge pea, White sweetclover.
More Arkansas flowers
Sources
- USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile MINU6.
- iNaturalist, Mimosa nuttallii: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
- Wikipedia, Mimosa nuttallii (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Arkansas: Arkansas State Plant Board noxious weeds and prohibited plants (2 CAR § 50-101).
- USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
- NatureServe Explorer, Mimosa nuttallii (global and state ranks).
- Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
- Photo: Alexandria Szakacs via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.