Hostilis, hostillis or tenuiflora, the names on the label

Mimosa hostilis and Mimosa tenuiflora are two names for the same tree, and Mimosa tenuiflora is the correct one. "Mimosa hostillis", with a double l, is a misspelling of the older trade name. All three turn up on bags of the same root bark, alongside a set of local names from Brazil and Mexico. This checkpoint sorts them out, so you know what you are reading on a label.

Two scientific names, one tree

Botanical names follow the oldest valid publication. The tree was first described by Willdenow in 1806 as Acacia tenuiflora. Poiret moved it to the genus Mimosa in 1810, which gives the accepted name Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. The other name has a separate history: Martius described the same tree from Brazil in 1823 as Acacia hostilis, and Bentham transferred that name to Mimosa in 1875.

Kew's World Checklist of Vascular Plants lists more synonyms for the same species, among them Acacia jurema Mart., Mimosa limana Rizzini and Mimosa nigra Huber. One trap: a Mimosa tenuiflora Benth. from 1846, based on a plant from Hidalgo in Mexico, is an unrelated and illegitimate name. You will not meet it on a bag.

The trade kept "hostilis" long after botanists moved on. Many sellers, laws and forums still use it. France names "Mimosa hostilis" in its list of narcotics, and the state of Louisiana does the same, so the old name matters legally too (see the legal checkpoint).

What the words mean

In Latin, hostilis means "of or belonging to an enemy, hostile" (Lewis and Short). The tree is armed with prickles, which would fit, but we found no note from Martius explaining his choice. Tenuis means thin or fine (Lewis and Short), so tenuiflora reads as "with slender flowers", a fair description of its narrow white flower spikes.

"Hostillis" has no meaning at all: Latin has no such word, and the International Plant Names Index holds no name spelled with a double l. It is a spelling mistake that you will still find in product titles and search boxes, and the address of this site uses it.

Local names

"Jurema" on its own is not a precise name. A review of the plant counts at least nineteen species that are called jurema in Brazil (Souza et al. 2008). A bag that says only "jurema" tells you little; the scientific name is what identifies the tree.

MHRB

MHRB stands for "Mimosa hostilis root bark". It is shop and forum shorthand, built on the old synonym; we found no source that records where it started. It always means the same material as "Mimosa tenuiflora inner root bark".

What a good label says

A clear label, or product page, gives you five things:

1. The scientific name, ideally Mimosa tenuiflora with "syn. Mimosa hostilis".
2. The plant part: inner root bark, which differs from stem bark or whole root.
3. The form: whole, shredded or powder.
4. The country of origin.
5. A batch or packing date, which the WHO guidelines on good collection practice ask for on every package (WHO 2003).

Avalon Magic Plants lists the family as Leguminosae (Fabaceae), the species as "tenuiflora (syn. hostilis)", the origin as Brazil and the form as whole bark on its product page. Its product title uses the trade names: Mimosa hostilis, inner root bark, jurema preta.

Contents#1578 Mimosa hostilis - Inner root bark | Jurema Preta €12.50Avalon Magic Plants View in shop Contents#5971 Mimosa Hostilis (Jurema Preta) 10 Seeds €8.50Avalon Magic Plants View in shop

Next on the route: the border, at the legal checkpoint.