[Illustration]
This species which is one of the smallest of the genus Mimosa, is found
in the prairies around Rio-Janeiro. Its stem is feeble, rather woody,
ramose, pubescent above and covered with very sharp prickles. The leaves
are bipinnate, the pinnæ being three- or four-paired, with small,
linear folioles, which close at the least contact; there are from 6 to
12 on each side of the spike. The flowers are small, sessile, forming
pretty silky tufts of a violet color. The fruit is somewhat triangular,
flattened, covered with long and stiff hairs, and surrounded by a
persistent pericarp, divided in two capsules, each of which contains one
seed.
_First day._—1. Twitching of the arm, which extends even to the chest.
Smarting pain in the legs, with lameness of the knee. Headache, with
weakness of the stomach. Stomach-ache after breakfast. 5. Drowsiness.
Flatulence and rumbling in the bowels. Yawning. Ptyalism. Shuddering.
10. Trembling of the legs. Lancinations in the legs and hands. Sneezing.
Coryza and discharge from the nose. Inflamed eyes. 15. Papulæ on the
left leg. Constipation. Depression of spirits.
_Second day._—Frequent waking at night. Dry cough in the morning. 20.
Stomach-ache after breakfast. Vertigo. Halo around the candle-light.
Numbness of the hands. Stiffness of the bends of the knees. 25. Sense of
heat in the head. The head seems larger than usual. Yawning. Indolent
indifference. Flatulent colic in the evening. 30. Frequent stools, with
colic. Papulous excrescence of the size of an almond on the right leg,
painful and itching. The same swelling at the instep. Drowsy in the
evening. Difficult breathing.
_Third day._—35. Inflammatory swelling of the scrotum. Itching of the
eyes. Pressure at the nape of the neck and the right temple. Papulous
excrescence at the tendo-Achillis. Dimness of vision. 40. Pain in the
sides of the head. Diarrhœa.
_Fourth day._—Swelling of the left ankle, with redness, tension and
lancinations. The excrescences on the leg disappear; similar ones appear
on the left arm. Easy stool. 45. Numbness of the arm and right hand,
passing off when moving the parts. The left eye becomes inflamed. Want of
breath.
_Fifth day._—Bleeding of the gums. The papulæ disappear. 50. Acute
lancinations, now in the legs, then in the arms. Violent lancinations in
the back as from a penknife. Drowsy in the evening, with frequent waking
at night.
_Sixth day._—Inflammatory swelling of the left hand. Shuddering.
_Eighth day._—55. Flatulence. Diarrhœa.
_Tenth day._—Diarrhœa. Whizzing in the ears.