MIMOSOIDEAE

Trees or shrubs, rarely climbers and herbs. Leaves more often bipinnate, rarely unipinnate; stipules present, sometimes spinescent. Flowers small, actinomorphic, bisexual, usually 5-merous, hypogynous or slightly perigynous, in globose heads or cylindric spikes, rarely shortly pedicelled and in slender racemes or globose umbels; bracts small. Sepals 5, small, fused; calyx 5-toothed or 5-lobed, rarely divided to the base, lobes valvate, rarely imbricate. Petals 5, isomerous with calyx-segments, free or connate, valvate. Stamens as many as or twice as many as petals or indefinite, free or monoadelphous or adnate to the base of the corolla tube; anthers small, versatile, dehiscing longitudinally, occasionally tipped by deciduous glands. Pistil monocarpellary; ovary free at the bottom of calyx, superior, unilocular, ovules mostly numerous, placentation marginal; style long, filiform; stigma terminal. Legume dehiscent or indehiscent, sometimes schizocarpic (lomentum); seeds mostly ovate to orbicular, pleurogram present or not; aril rarely present.