Another fabulous forest find - this plant, Mimosa pudica, is sensitive to touch. The reaction exhibited when something brushes up against it is known as a thigmonastic response, and can be seen in the venus fly trap plant as well. In this plant the leaves fold in on themselves at the slightest irritation they sense.
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| undisturbed leaves |
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| the same leaves after being touched |
You've probably seen this plant at home - I think we know it commonly as "Touch-me-not"... Here it's called the shy princess (in India the shy virgin). You can see by its pretty pink pom-pom flower why it might be considered a princess. But these plants also have thorns on their stems, and often kids in the villages have scars around their feet and ankles as a result of playing barefoot carelessly and getting into a tangle with these spines.
I came across a patch of it the other day and after spending countless minutes playing, decided it would make a good addition to my blog, so took some pics and video.
The team tells me that this plant is often use for medicinal purposes as well, and supports treatments for smooth birthing, asthma, insomnia and malaria.
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