Wikimedia Commons
Fabaceae
Humble Plant
Mimosa pudica
Sensitivity and humility.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Genus
- Mimosa
- Native to
- Central America, South America
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- herbaceous perennial (often grown as annual)
- Height
- 15–50 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, well-drained, loamy
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 9–11
- Lifespan
- perennial in tropics; annual in temperate zones
Did you know
- Touch the leaves and they fold shut within seconds — a rapid movement called 'seismonasty' driven by water pressure changes.
- The leaf-folding response may deter herbivores by making the plant look wilted or by exposing stem thorns.
- Charles Darwin studied Mimosa pudica extensively and wrote about plant movement in 'The Power of Movement in Plants' (1880).
- The fluffy pink pom-pom flowers are actually clusters of dozens of tiny individual florets.
- If stimulated too frequently, the plant 'habituates' and stops closing — a form of primitive learning.
Color meanings
Pink
bashful sensitivity
Lavender
gentle modesty