Wikimedia Commons
Fabaceae
Mimosa Pudica Flower
Mimosa pudica
Sensitivity and self-protection.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Genus
- Mimosa
- Native to
- Central America, South America
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- herbaceous perennial or annual
- Height
- 15–50 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, well-drained, nutrient-poor
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 9–11
- Lifespan
- short-lived perennial; often grown as annual
Did you know
- Touch any leaf and it folds shut within seconds — a rapid plant movement called thigmonasty driven by water pressure changes in cells.
- The folding response is thought to deter herbivores by making the plant look wilted, dead, or thorny.
- Studies show Mimosa pudica can 'learn' — after repeated non-harmful drops, it stops closing, a form of habituation.
- The pink pom-pom flowers are actually dense clusters of tiny individual flowers, each with four petals and long stamens.
- Charles Darwin was fascinated by its movements and devoted an entire chapter to it in 'The Power of Movement in Plants' (1880).
Color meanings
Pink
tender vulnerability
Lavender
sensitive soul