4/17/2012
There are over 300 species of Mimosa that belong to the family Leguminosae. This species,
Mimosa pudica, is native to Brazil but is naturalized throughout the tropics of the Americas, Africa, and
Asia. It runs wild as a weed in the Gulf States of the southeastern United States. Mimosa pudica is a
perennial but is often cultivated as an annual in gardens as a result of its curious rapid movement. The
shrubby plant will grow to 18 inches outdoors with hairy and spiny stems. The stem is erect in young
plants, but becomes creeping or trailing with age. The stem is slender, branching, and sparsely to densely
prickly, growing to a length of 5 feet. The leaves of the mimosa pudica are compound leaves. Its flowers
resemble little purplish puffs that give rise to ½ inch-long pods containing 3 to 4 seeds each.
Mimosa pudica is remarkable because of its rapid movement, which is rare in plants. It has two
types of movement, including nyctinastic movements, in which in the evening the leaflets fold together
and the whole leaf droops downward until sunrise. It also performs seismonastic movements, which is
caused by touching the leaves, shaking the plant, slight warming of the leaves, or chemical and electrical
stimuli. This causes the leaflets to fold together and the whole leaf to droop downwards temporarily. The
movement occurs when specific regions of cells lose turgor pressure, which is the force that is applied
onto the cell wall by water within the cell vacuoles and other cell contents. It is thought that this is an
evolutionary mechanism in which it appears to be unhealthy in an attempt to make itself less attractive to
prey. This attribute has lead to Mimosa pudia acquiring the name sensitive plant, humble plant, shameful
other regions and is regarded as an invasive species in Tanzania, South Asia and South East Asia and
many Pacific Islands. It is regarded as invasive in parts of Australia and is a declared weed in the
Northern Territory and Western Australia, although not naturalized there. Control is recommended in
Queensland. It has also been introduced to Nigeria, Seychelles, Mauritius and East Asia but is not
regarded as invasive in those places. In the United States of America, it grows in Florida, Hawaii,
Virginia, Maryland, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the Virgin Islands. Sensitive plant has become a serious weed
in fields of corn, soybeans, tomatoes, upland rice, cotton, bananas, sugarcane, coffee, oil palms, papayas,
coconuts, and rubber in many tropical areas. It is particularly troublesome where hand pulling of weeds is
practiced. It has gained the Control Codes and Landholder Obligations level of P1 in Australia, which
prohibits movement of plants or their seeds is prohibited within the State. This prohibits the movement of
contaminated machinery and produce including livestock and fodder. The species may be controlled by a
Mimosa pudica forms dense ground cover, preventing growth and reproduction of native plants
by blocking out sunlight and preventing seeds reaching the ground. The thickets are a fire hazard when
dry. Its roots produce carbon disulfide, which inhibits colonization of the rhizosphere by fungi. The root
nodules have been shown to fix nitrogen. Thickets of sensitive plant may be a fire hazard when dry. The
seeds and other plant parts of sensitive plant contain mimonsine, an amino acid that is known to cause
hair loss and depressed growth in mammals. An unlikely large dose is necessary to cause problems,
however. The pollen is important to honeybees in the Philippines. Extracts of the plant have been shown
in scientific trials to be a moderate diuretic, depress duodenal contractions similar to atropine sulphone,
promote regeneration of nerves, and reduce menorrhagia. Anitdepressant activity has been demonstrated
in humans. Root extracts are reported to be a strong emetic. The species can be a troublesome weed in
tropical crops, particularly when fields are hand cultivated. Crops it tends to affect are corn, coconuts,
tomatoes, cotton, coffee, bananas, soybeans, papaya, and sugar cane. Dry thickets may become a fire
hazard. In some cases it has become a forage plant although the variety in Hawaii is reported to be toxic
to livestock. Mimosa pudica can form root nodules that are inhabitable by nitrogen fixing bacteria. The
bacteria are able to convert atmospheric nitrogen, which plants cannot use, into a form that plants can use.
The plants can be dug out, but this is often difficult due to thorns and woody roots, especially
when the plant covers a large area as dense thickets. It is susceptible to several herbicides, including
dicamba, glyphosate, picloram and triclopyr. It has been shown to be very sensitive to picloram (0.25
lb/acre) and sensitive to triclopyr. On the contrary, its response to icamba and 2,4-D is poor. Thorough
wetting of all leaf surfaces is essential, but if plants are disturbed before spraying, the leaves will fold up
and the herbicide will be ineffective. To combat this, soil applied tebuthiuron has been proven to be
effective. On the other hand, it is tolerated or valued as a forage plant in pastures. In fact, sheep grazing is
Bibliography
Holm, L.G., D.L. Plucknett, J.V. Paucho, and J.P. Herberger. 1977. The world’s worst weeds.
"Mimosa Pudica." Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project (HEAR). Pacific Island Ecosystems at
<http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/mimosa_pudica.htm>.
Turbet, C.R. and K. Thuraisingham. 1948. Feeding trials with the sensitive plant Mimosa pudica.