Mimosa, in astronomy
Mimosa or Beta Crucis (bā`tə kr
`sĭs), bright star in the constellation Crux Crux (kr
ks) [Lat...... Click the link for more information. (Southern Cross); 1992 position R.A. 12h47.3m, Dec. −59°39'. It is sometimes called Becrux, from its Bayer name, analogous to Acrux (Alpha Crucis) and Gacrux (Gamma Crucis). A bluish-white giant of spectral class spectral class, in astronomy, a classification of the stars by their spectrum and luminosity . In 1885, E. C. Pickering began the first extensive attempt to classify the stars spectroscopically.
..... Click the link for more information. B0 III, its apparent magnitude magnitude, in astronomy, measure of the brightness of a star or other celestial object. The stars cataloged by Ptolemy (2d cent. A.D.), all visible with the unaided eye, were ranked on a brightness scale such that the brightest stars were of 1st magnitude and the
..... Click the link for more information. of 1.28 makes it one of the 20 brightest stars in the sky. Mimosa's distance is c.500 light-years.
mimosa, in botany
mimosa (mĭmō`sə), any tree, shrub, or herb of the genus Mimosa of the family Leguminosae (pulse pulse, in botany, common name for members of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae), a large plant family, called also the pea, or legume, family. Numbering about 650 genera and 17,000 species, the family is third largest, after the asters and the orchids...... Click the link for more information. family), chiefly tropical plants. They usually have feathery foliage and rounded clusters of fragrant pinkish flowers atop the branches. Mimosas are used for ornamental purposes in warm regions. The yellow-flowered plants sold as mimosa by florists are usually of the related genus Acacia (see acacia acacia (əkā`shə), any plant of the large leguminous genus Acacia,
..... Click the link for more information. ). Most widely known of the mimosas is the sensitive plant (M. pudica), considered a weed in the American tropics but cultivated as a greenhouse annual elsewhere because its leaves fold up and collapse under stimulus (e.g., touch, darkness, or drought) until the whole plant may assume temporarily a thoroughly wilted appearance. It is now naturalized in many warm regions and grows wild in the Gulf states. The name sensitive plant is also applied to other plants of this family that show similar movements. Mimosa is classified in the division Magnoliophyta Magnoliophyta (măg'nōlēŏf`ətə)
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.
mimosa
Any member of the more than 450 species that make up the genus Mimosa in the family Mimosaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas throughout both hemispheres. Most are herbaceous plants or undershrubs; some are woody climbers; a few are small trees. They are often prickly. Mimosas are widely cultivated for the beauty of their foliage and for their interesting response to light and mechanical stimuli: the leaves of some species droop in response to darkness and close up their leaflets when touched. The name comes from this “mimicking” of animal sensibility. The roots of some species are poisonous; others contain skin irritants. Many acacias are commonly but incorrectly called mimosas. See also sensitive plant.
mimosa
1. any tropical shrub or tree of the leguminous genus Mimosa, having ball-like clusters of yellow or pink flowers and compound leaves that are often sensitive to touch or light
2. any similar or related tree
Mimosa [mə′mō·sə]
(astronomy)
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