[1] It has been listed as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species and forms dense, thorny, impenetrable thickets, particularly in wet areas.

Each flower head produces a cluster of 10 to 20 seedpods, which then mature and break into segments, each containing an oblong shaped seed.

It can be distinguished from Mimosa pudica by its large size, large pods (6 to 8 cm long as opposed to 2.5 cm long) and leaves, which have 6 to 16 pairs of pinnae as opposed to 1 to 2 pairs on Mimosa pudica leaves.

It does not appear to grow preferentially in any one soil type, but is most commonly found in moist situations such as floodplains and river banks in soils ranging from black cracking clays throughout sandy clays to coarse siliceous river sand.

[10] It has been documented in: Australia, Cambodia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Eswatini, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia, United States, and Vietnam.

In Sri Lanka it was first seen in 1996 along a 1 kilometer stretch of banks of the Mahaweli River near Kandy in the Central Province.

From there it spread further along the banks and flood plains of the Mahaweli River and the shores of the Victoria and Randenigala Dams.

It is now also found in abandoned paddy fields, other river and stream banks, and gardens in 4 districts across 3 provinces.