I was dumping compost, right next the wood pile that really should have been cleared of brush and weeds last year. I heard a wicked rattle...it terrified me. I immediately thought of a rattlesnake, but remembered that it was far too cool of a spring day for a rattlesnake to be out and about.
Guess what it was?
I felt stupid. These are the seed pods of our "mimosa" tree, on a branch that had been trimmed a few weeks previous. They are very dry and clumped together like that they make a great rattle.
"Mimosa" you ask? Albizia julibrissin is often called mimosa in the US, though it is not in the Mimosa family. It's non-native, tends towards invasive, and should more rightly be called a Persian silk tree among other names. Does that seed pod remind you of a bean pod? Well it's in legume family...go figure. It had a beautiful blooms last year in early June.
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