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Mimosa pudica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mimosa pudica

Mimosa pudica showing flower head and

leaves

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

 Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

(unranked): Angiosperms

(unranked): Eudicots

(unranked): Rosids

Order: Fabales

Family: Fabaceae

Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae[1]

(unranked): Mimosoid clade[1]

Genus: Mimosa

Species: M. pudica

Binomial name

Mimosa pudica
L.[2]

Mimosa pudica[3] (from Latin: pudica "shy, bashful or shrinking"; also called sensitive plant, sleepy
plant, Dormilones, touch-me-not, or shy plant) is a creeping annual or perennial herb of the pea
family Fabaceae often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop
when touched or shaken, defending themselves from harm, and re-open a few minutes later.[4] The
species is native to South America and Central America, but is now a pantropical weed. It can also
be found in Asia in countries such
as Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Japan,
Sri Lanka and well across the southern part of the United States . It is also found as an invasive
weed in Far North Queensland, Australia. It grows mostly in undisturbed shady areas, under trees or
shrubs.

Contents
 [hide]

 1Taxonomy
 2Description
o 2.1Plant movement
 3Distribution and habitat
 4Agricultural impacts
o 4.1Nitrogen fixation
 5Cultivation
 6Chemical constituents
 7Research with Mimosa pudica
 8See also
 9References
 10External links

Taxonomy[edit]
Mimosa pudica was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum in 1753.[5] The
species epithet, pudica, is Latin for "bashful" or "shrinking", alluding to its shrinking reaction to
contact.
The species is known by numerous common names including sensitive plant, humble plant,
shameplant, and touch-me-not.[2]

Description[edit]

Mimosa pudica flower from Thrissur, Kerala, India

Flower

Mimosa pudica folding leaflets inward.

Mimosa pudica seeds

Mimosa pudica with mature seed pods on plant

The whole plant of Mimosa pudica includes thorny stem and branches, flower head, dry flowers, seed pods,
and folded and unfolded leaflets

The stem is erect in young plants, but becomes creeping or trailing with age. It can hang very low
and become floppy. The stem is slender, branching, and sparsely to densely prickly, growing to a
length of 1.5 m (5 ft).
The leaves are bipinnately compound, with one or two pinnae pairs, and 10–26 leaflets per pinna.
The petioles are also prickly. Pedunculate (stalked) pale pink or purple flower heads arise from the
leaf axils in mid summer with more and more flowers as the plant gets older. The globose to ovoid
heads are 8–10 mm in diameter (excluding the stamens). On close examination, it is seen that the
floret petals are red in their upper part and the filaments are pink to lavender. The fruit consists of
clusters of 2–8 pods from 1–2 cm long each, these being prickly on the margins. The pods break into
2–5 segments and contain pale brown seeds some 2.5 mm long. The flowers are pollinated by the
wind and insects.[6] The seeds have hard seed coats which restrict germination.[7]
The roots of Mimosa pudica create carbon disulfide, which prevents certain pathogenic and
mycorrhizal fungi from growing within the plant’s rhizosphere.[8] This allows the formation of nodules
on the roots of the plant that contain endosymbiotic diazotrophs, which fix atmospheric nitrogen and
convert it into a form that is usable by the plant.[9]
Mimosa pudica is a tetraploid (2n = 52).[10]
Plant movement[edit]

Video of Mimosa pudica closing when touched in Hainan, China

Mimosa pudica is well known for its rapid plant movement. Like a number of other plant species, it
undergoes changes in leaf orientation termed "sleep" or nyctinasticmovement. The foliage closes
during darkness and reopens in light.[11] This was first studied by the French scientist Jean-Jacques
d'Ortous de Mairan.
The leaflets also close when stimulated in other ways, such as touching, warming, blowing, or
shaking. These types of movements have been termed seismonasticmovements. The stimulus is
transmitted as an action potential from a stimulated leaflet, to the leaflet's swollen base (pulvinus),
and from there to the pulvini of the other leaflets, which run along the length of the leaf's rachis. The
action potential then passes into the petiole, and finally to the large pulvinus at the end of the petiole,
where the leaf attaches to the stem. The action potential causes potassium ions to flow out from the
vacuoles of cells in the various pulvini. This causes water to flow out from those cells
by osmosis through aquaporin channels, making them lose turgor, which is the force that is applied
onto the cell wall by water within the cell. Differences in turgidity in different regions of the leaf and
stem results in the closing of the leaflets and the collapse of the leaf petiole.[12]
This movement of folding inwards is energetically costly for the plant and also interferes with the
process of photosynthesis.[13] This characteristic is quite common within the Mimosoideae subfamily
of the legume family, Fabaceae. The stimulus can also be transmitted to neighboring leaves. It is not
known exactly why Mimosa pudicaevolved this trait, but many scientists think that the plant uses its
ability to shrink as a defense from herbivores. Animals may be afraid of a fast moving plant and
would rather eat a less active one. Another possible explanation is that the sudden movement
dislodges harmful insects.[citation needed]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Mimosa pudica is native to South America, North 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.[14] It is regarded as invasive in parts
of Australia and is a declared weed in the Northern Territory,[15] and Western Australia although not
naturalized there.[16] Control is recommended in Queensland.[17] It has also been introduced
to Ghana, Nigeria, Seychelles, Mauritius and East Asia but is not regarded as invasive in those
places.[14] In the United States of America, it grows
in Florida, Hawaii, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Puerto Rico, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Georgia, and the Virgin Islands, as well as Cuba and the Dominican Republic.[18]

Agricultural impacts[edit]
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.[6] In some cases it has become a
forage plant although the variety in Hawaii is reported to be toxic to livestock.[6][19]
In addition, Mimosa pudica can change the physico-chemical properties of the soil it invades. For
example, the total N and K increased in significantly invaded areas.[20]
Nitrogen fixation[edit]
Mimosa pudica can form root nodules that are habitable by nitrogen-fixing bacteria.[21] 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. Nitrogen is a vital element for both plant
growth and reproduction. Nitrogen is also essential for plant photosynthesis because it is a
component of chlorophyll. Nitrogen fixation contributes nitrogen to the plant and to the soil
surrounding the plant's roots.[22]
Mimosa pudica’s ability to fix nitrogen may have arisen in conjunction with the evolution of nitrogen-
fixing bacteria. Nitrogen fixation is an adaptive trait that has transformed the parasitic relationship
between the bacteria and plants into a mutualistic relationship. The shifting dynamics of this
relationship are demonstrated by the corresponding improvement of various symbiotic
characteristics in both Mimosa pudica and bacteria. These traits include enhanced “competitive
nodulation, nodule development, intracellular infection, and bacteroid persistence”.[23] As much as
60% of the nitrogen found in Mimosa pudica can be attributed to the fixation of N2 by
bacteria. Burkholderia phymatum STM815T and Cupriavidus taiwanensis LMG19424T are beta-
rhizobial strains of diazotrophs that are highly effective at fixing nitrogen when coupled with M.
pudica. Burkholderia is also shown to be a strong symbiont of Mimosa pudica in nitrogen-poor soils
in regions like Cerrado and Caatinga.[9]

Cultivation[edit]
In cultivation, this plant is most often grown as an indoor annual, but is also grown for groundcover.
Propagation is generally by seed. Mimosa pudica grows most effectively in nutrient poor soil that
allows for substantial water drainage. However, this plant is also shown to grow in scalped and
eroded subsoils. Typically, disrupted soil is necessary in order for M. pudica to become established
in an area. Additionally, the plant is shade intolerant and frost-sensitive, meaning that it does not
tolerate low levels of light or cold temperatures. Mimosa pudica does not compete for resources with
larger foliage or forest canopy undergrowth.[8]

Chemical constituents[edit]
Mimosa pudica contains the toxic alkaloid mimosine, which has been found to also
have antiproliferative and apoptotic effects.[24] The extracts of Mimosa pudicaimmobilize the filariform
larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis in less than one hour.[25] Aqueous extracts of the roots of the plant
have shown significant neutralizing effects in the lethality of the venom of the monocled cobra (Naja
kaouthia). It appears to inhibit the myotoxicity and enzyme activity of cobra venom.[26]
Mimosa pudica demonstrates both antioxidant and antibacterial properties. This plant has also been
demonstrated to be non-toxic in brine shrimp lethality tests, which suggests that M. pudica has low
levels of toxicity. Chemical analysis has shown that Mimosa pudica contains various compounds,
including “alkaloids, flavonoid C-glycosides, sterols, terenoids, tannins, and fatty acids”.[27] The roots
of the plant have been shown to contain up to 10% tannin. A substance similar to adrenaline has
been found within the plant's leaves. Mimosa pudica's seeds produce mucilage made up of D-
glucuronic acid and D-xylose. Additionally, extracts of M. pudica have been shown to contain
crocetin-dimethylester, tubulin, and green-yellow fatty oils. A new class of phytohormone turgorines,
which are derivatives of gallic acid 4-O-(β-D-glucopyranosyl-6'-sulfate), have been discovered within
the plant.[8]
The nitrogen-fixing properties of Mimosa pudica contribute to a high nitrogen content within the
plant’s leaves. The leaves of M. pudica also contain a wide range of carbon to mineral content, as
well as, a large variation in 13C values. The correlation between these two numbers suggests that
significant ecological adaptation has occurred among the varieties of M. pudica in Brazil.[22]
The roots contain sac-like structures that release organic and organosulfur compounds including
SO2, methylsulfinic acid, pyruvic acid, lactic acid, ethanesulfinic acid, propane sulfinic acid, 2-
mercaptoaniline, S-propyl propane 1-thiosulfinate, and thioformaldehyde, an elusive and highly
unstable compound never before reported to be emitted by a plant.[28]

Research with Mimosa pudica[edit]

Due to Mimosa's unique response to touch, it became an ideal plant for many experiments regarding
plant habituation and memory. Wilhelm Pfeffer, a German botanist during the 17th century,
used Mimosa in one of the first experiments testing plant habituation.[29] Further experimentation was
done in 1965, when Holmes and Gruenberg discovered that Mimosa could distinguish between two
stimuli, a water drop and a finger touch. Their findings also demonstrated that the habituated
behavior was not due to fatigue since the leaf-folding response returned when another stimulus was
presented.[29]
More recently, Mimosa pudica was used in a 2014 study by Monica Gagliano from the University of
Western Australia.[30] She wanted to determine how environmental conditions impacted the rate of
habituation to a specific stimulus, and how long this habituated behavior could last. To invoke
habituation, Mimosa plants were continuously dropped from the same height until they no longer
demonstrated their "shy" reflex. After an extended period of time, researchers dropped them again.
Experimental results show that after a month had passed, Mimosa pudica plants were still
habituated to dropping.[31]

See also[edit]
 Exotic plants
 Mimosa pigra

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG). (2017). "A new subfamily
classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive
phylogeny". Taxon. 66 (1): 44–77. doi:10.12705/661.3.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b "Mimosa pudica". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural
Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2008-03-27.
3. Jump up^ Amador-Vegas, Dominguez (2014). "Leaf-folding response of a sensitive plant shows
context-dependent behavioral plasticity". Plant Ecology. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
4. Jump up^ Plants Remember You if You Mess With Them Enough March 28, 2016
5. Jump up^ "Mimosa pudica". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant
Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Mimosa pudica L" (PDF). US Forest Service. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
7. Jump up^ Chauhan, Bhagirath S. Johnson; Davi, E. (2009). "Germination, emergence, and
dormancy of Mimosa pudica". Weed Biology and Management. 9 (1): 38–45. doi:10.1111/j.1445-
6664.2008.00316.x.
8. ^ Jump up to:a b c Azmi, Lubna (2011). "Pharmacological and Biological Overview on Mimosa Pudica
Linn". International Journal of Pharmacy & Life Sciences. 2 (11): 1226–1234.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b Bueno Dos Reis, Fábio (2010). "Nodulation and Nitrogen Fixation by Mimosa spp. in
the Cerrado and Caatinga Biomes of Brazil". New Phytologist. 186 (4): 934–946. doi:10.1111/j.1469-
8137.2010.03267.x.
10. Jump up^ Berger CA, Witkus ER, McMahon RM (1958). "Cytotaxonomic studies in the
Leguminosae". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 85 (6): 405–
415. doi:10.2307/2483163. JSTOR 2483163.
11. Jump up^ Raven, Peter H.; Evert, Ray F.; Eichhorn, Susan E. (January 2005). "Section 6. Physiology
of Seed Plants: 29. Plant Nutrition and Soils". Biology of Plants (7th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman
and Company. p. 639. ISBN 978-0-7167-1007-3. LCCN 2004053303. OCLC 56051064.
12. Jump up^ Vanden Driessche, Thérèse (2000). "Nutations in Shoots and in Desmodium Lateral
Leaflets, Nyctinastism and Seismonastism in Mimosa pudica. Comparison and Evolution of
Morphology and Mechanism". Biological Rhythm Research. 31 (4): 451–468. doi:10.1076/0929-
1016(200010)31:4;1-2;ft451.
13. Jump up^ Amador-Vegas, Dominguez (2014). "Leaf-folding response of a sensitive plant shows
context-dependent behavioral plasticity". Plant Ecology.
14. ^ Jump up to:a b "Mimosa pudica". Usambara Invasive Plants. Tropical Biology Association. Archived
from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
15. Jump up^ "Declared Weeds in the NT – Natural Resources, Environment and The Arts". Archived
from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
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2008-04-13. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
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Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
19. Jump up^ "Mimosa pudica (PIER species info)". Retrieved 2008-03-25.
20. Jump up^ {{[Wang, Ruilong, et al. "Changes in soil physico-chemical properties, enzyme activities
and soil microbial communities under Mimosa pudica invasion."Allelopathy Journal 36.1 (2015).}}
21. Jump up^ Elmerich, Claudine; Newton, William Edward (2007). Associative and endophytic nitrogen-
fixing bacteria and cyanobacterial associations. Springer. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4020-3541-8
22. ^ Jump up to:a b Sprent, J.I. (1996). "Natural Abundance of 15N and 13C in Nodulated Legumes and
Other Plants in the Cerrado and Neighbouring Regions of Brazil". Oecologia. 105 (4): 440–
446. doi:10.1007/bf00330006.
 23. Jump up^ Marchetti, Marta (2014). "Shaping Bacterial Symbiosis With Legumes by Experimental
Evolution". Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. 27 (9): 956–964. doi:10.1094/mpmi-03-14-0083-r.
24. Jump up^ "Antiproliferative effect of mimosine in ovarian cancer". Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
25. Jump up^ Robinson RD, Williams LA, Lindo JF, Terry SI, Mansingh A (1990). "Inactivation
of Strongyloides stercoralis filariform larvae in vitro by six Jamaican plant extracts and three
commercial anthelmintics". West Indian Medical Journal. 39 (4): 213–217. PMID 2082565.
26. Jump up^ Mahanta, M; Mukherjee, AK (Apr 2001). "Journal of Ethnopharmacology : Neutralisation of
lethality, myotoxicity and toxic enzymes of Naja kaouthia venom by Mimosa pudica root
extracts". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 75: 55–60. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(00)00373-
1. PMID 11282444. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
27. Jump up^ Genest, Samuel (2008). "Comparative Bioactivity Studies on Two Mimosa
Species". Boletín Latinoamericano Y Del Caribe De Plantas Medicinales Y Aromáticas. 7 (1): 38–43.
28. Jump up^ Musah, Rabi A.; Lesiak, Ashton D.; Maron, Max J.; Cody, Robert B.; Edwards, David;
Fowble, Kristen; Dane, A. John; Long, Michael C. (December 9, 2015). "Mechanosensitivity Below
Ground: Touch-Sensitive Smell-Producing Roots in the "Shy Plant," Mimosa pudica L". Plant
Physiology. 170: 1075–1089. doi:10.1104/pp.15.01705. PMC 4734582  . PMID 26661932.
29. ^ Jump up to:a b Abramson, Charles I.; Chicas-Mosier, Ana M. (2016-03-31). "Learning in Plants:
Lessons from Mimosa pudica". Frontiers in Psychology. 7. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00417. ISSN 1664-
1078. PMC 4814444  . PMID 27065905.
30. Jump up^ Australia,, The University of Western. "Monica Gagliano". www.ceb.uwa.edu.au.
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31. Jump up^ Gagliano, Monica; Renton, Michael; Depczynski, Martial; Mancuso, Stefano (2014-05-
01). "Experience teaches plants to learn faster and forget slower in environments where it
matters". Oecologia. 175 (1): 63–72. doi:10.1007/s00442-013-2873-7. ISSN 0029-8549.

External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Mimosa
pudica.

Wikispecies has
information related
to Mimosa pudica

 A list of notable chemical compounds found in Mimosa pudica

 View occurrences of Mimosa pudica in the Biodiversity Heritage Library
 "Sensitive Plant" page by Dr. T. Ombrello
 Fact Sheet from the Queensland (Australia) Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
 Page about nyctinasty and leaf movement of Mimosa pudica by John Hewitson
 Indiana.edu "Plants in motion" videos of Mimosa pudica:
 [1] Effect of Total Solar Elipse on Mimosa pudica plant In Central Kalimantan, Indonesia] by
Rony Teguh and Fengky F. Adjie University of Palangka Raya
 1 and 2
 "Video:MIMOSA PUDICA SENSITIVE:guide de culture". Ethnoplants.com. Retrieved 2009-10-
12.
 Categories:
 IUCN Red List least concern species
 Mimosa
 Flora of Central America
 Flora of South America
 Neotropic ecozone flora
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 Garden plants of South America
 House plants
 Invasive plant species
 Plants used in Ayurveda
 Plants described in 1753
 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
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