Taxon: Neptunia plena (L.) Benth.

Summary

Genus:

Neptunia

Family:

Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)

Subfamily:

Caesalpinioideae

Tribe:

Mimoseae

Nomen number:

25211

Place of publication:

J. Bot. (Hooker) 4:355. 1841

Verified:

10/17/1989 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

2 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Mimosa plena L.

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Encke, F. et al. 1993. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 14. Auflage
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
Lewis, G. P. 1987. Legumes of Bahia
Lock, J. M. & C. S. Ford. 2004. Legumes of Malesia: a checklist
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
Slocum, P. D. et al. 1996. Water gardening: water lilies and lotuses 66. Note: Timber Press, Portland, Oregon
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
Windler, D. R. 1966. A revision of the genus Neptunia (Leguminosae). Austral. J. Bot. 14:398.

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	water sensitive			1	Slocum, P. D. et al. 1996. Water gardening: water lilies and lotuses 66. Note: Timber Press, Portland, Oregon

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California Sur		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	West Indies
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana			Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname			Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador		n.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized					natzd. in tropical Asia

Native
Northern America

SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: West Indies
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador (n.), Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Paraguay

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized (natzd. in tropical Asia)

Reference(s)

Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:753.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Environmental	ornamental	aquarium plant	Slocum, P. D. et al. 1996. Water gardening: water lilies and lotuses 66. Note: Timber Press, Portland, Oregon

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=25211. Accessed 15 April 2026.