Description of Mimosa Pudica

Features

• Mimosa pudica has a thorny stem and pale green leaves resembling those of ferns. The leaves are known for closing in on themselves when touched or exposed to other stimuli such as fire and wind, effectively earning the "sensitive plant" moniker. Mimosa pudica seeds are spread by either water or their bristles, which stick to animal fur or human clothing. The plant also has fluffy pink flowers that take a spherical shape and require either bees or the wind for pollination.

Locations

• Though native to Central and South America, particularly Brazil, mimosa pudica grows in a number of places including Australia, Guam, Micronesia, Tanzania and the United States. The plant also exists on Pacific islands--Cook Island, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tong--as well as in Asian countries--Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Uses

• Mimosa pudica's ability to make its leaves close give it a primarily decorative use for gardeners and enthusiasts. In Southeast and South Asia, the plant is used as a medicinal herb.

Problems

• Many territories around the world consider the plant a nuisance because of its weed-like tendencies. Mimosa pudica tends to thickly cover the ground, preventing other plants from growing, and its thorny stems make hand removal difficult. It also can be a fire hazard in dry areas. You can control the plant with herbicides like dicamba and triclopyr. Grazing livestock also help because cows remove the plants with their hooves to reach edible grass below.

  Mimosa pudica contains mimonsine, an animo acid that, when consumed in large amounts, can stunt growth in animals as well as cause hair loss. Some geographic variations on the plant like the Mimosa pudica in Hawaii are toxic to cattle.

Growing

• Mimosa pudica requires a temperature of 60 to 85 degrees F and is particularly sensitive to drought and frost. The plant also reacts poorly to overwatering. However, mimosa pudica can grow in all kinds of soil, even of very low quality, because it takes the inert nitrogen present in the air and converts it to ammonia, making it useful for the plant. The plant needs light and thus cannot grow in areas where light cannot get to it, such as under a forest canopy.