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John Lucci

4/17/2012

Attributes and Identification of Mimosa pudica,

An Animate Invasive Plant

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

plant, sleeping grass, and touch-me-not.


Mimosa pudica is native to South America and Central America. It has been introduced to many

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

number of commercial broad-leaf herbicides.

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.

This trait is common among plants in the Fabaceae family.

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

reported to control sensitive plant in pastures and plantations.

Bibliography

Holm, L.G., D.L. Plucknett, J.V. Paucho, and J.P. Herberger. 1977. The world’s worst weeds.

East-West Center, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI. 609 p.

"Mimosa Pudica." Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project (HEAR). Pacific Island Ecosystems at

Risk (PIER). Web. 17 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/mimosa_pudica.htm>.

Turbet, C.R. and K. Thuraisingham. 1948. Feeding trials with the sensitive plant Mimosa pudica.

Tropical Agriculturist, Ceylon 104(2): 81-86.

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