Mimosa (Mimosa pudica) Facts
Mimosa (Mimosa pudica) Facts
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| Interesting Mimosa (Mimosa pudica) Facts: |
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| Mimosa has erect stem that becomes trailing with age. It can reach 15 feet in length. |
| Mimosa has reddish-brown or purple stem covered with multiple prickles. |
| Mimosa develops green, bipinnate leaves composed of small oblong-shaped leaflets. Both surfaces of leaves and their margins are covered with miniature hairs. |
| Mimosa folds its leaves during the night and as an answer to external stimuli such as touch. |
| This phenomenon is scientifically known as seismonastic movement. It is a result of quick drop in turgor (pressure inside the plant cell which keeps it firm) in the cells at the base of leaflets. "Flaccid" cells cannot support weight of the leaflet and they start to close. |
| Scientists believe that mimosa folds its leaves to repel predators (sudden movement of leaves can scare them) and to eliminate annoying insects. |
| Mimosa produces pink or purple globular flowerheads that consist of large number of individual flowers. Flowers have fluffy appearance due to large number of purple stamens. |
| Mimosa blooms during the summer. Wind and insects are responsible for the pollination of flowers. |
| Mimosa produces oblong, flat pods (type of fruit). They are gathered in clusters composed of 2 to 8 pods. Each pod contains 1 to 6 seed. Immature pods are green, mature pods are brown colored. |
| Seed is light brown colored, flat and covered with tough coat. |
| Latin name of the plant, "Mimosa pudica", originates from unusual habit of the plant to shrink its leaves when touched ("pudica" means "bashful"). Mimosa is also known as sensitive plant, humble plant, touch-me-not, sleeping grass and shameful plant. |
| Mimosa is highly invasive plant that negatively affects growth of important agricultural crops such as corn, coconut, tomatoes, soybean, banana, coffee and sugar cane. |
| In some parts of the world, mimosa is used as fodder. Some varieties of mimosa contain chemicals that may induce poisoning of the cattle. |
| Despite being invasive, mimosa can act beneficially on the growth of other plants by increasing fertility of the soil. Mimosa lives in symbiosis (mutually beneficial relationship) with nitrogen fixing bacteria, which enrich soil with nitrogen. Mimosa provides food for bacteria in return. |
| Mimosa can be cultivated as annual plant (life span: one year) or perennial plant (life span: over two years). |
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