Mimosa pudica L.

 
  • Family : MIMOSACEAE
    (Pea Or Bean Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : BABOOL FAMILY (बबूल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Leguminosae
  • Subfamily : Mimosoideae
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Mimosa pudica L.
  • Common name : Touch-me-not, Sensitive plant, Humble plant
  • Vernacular name :
    • Lajvanti, Lajwati, Chui-mui (Hindi)
    • Nachige mullu, Muttidare muni, Olamucchaga (Kannada)
    • Thottaar siungi, Totalvadi (Tamil)
    • Nidrabhunji, Attipatti, Lajjavathi, Peddanidra kanni (Telugu)
    • Lajakuli, Lajkui, Lajuli, Nachkuli, Lajalu (Oria)
    • Lejjallu (Sanskrit)
    • Theendrmani, Thottalvadi, Thottavadi (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : Foot hills of forests and moist places
  • Comments / notes : Common on plains to 1300m,along roadsides, forest clearings and ungrazed places. Also found in aggregate clumps along river banks, arable and fallow lands. Leaves with black pepper and garlic in 2:1:1 ratio used to cure epileptic fits (Personal observation, Raja K. Swamy, 2010).
  • Key identification features : Prostrate prickly undershrub with sensitive leaves and purple flower heads; pod beaded
  • Flower, Fruit : July-January
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Anantapur district, Chittoor district, Kadapa district, East Godavari district, Guntur district, Krishna district, Kurnool district, Nellore district, Prakasam district, Srikakulam district, Vishakapatnam district, Vizianagaram district, West Godavari district
    • Telangana : Nalgonda district, Khammam district, Mehboobnagar district
    • Karnataka : Ballari district, Chamarajanagar district, Kolar district, Udupi district, Dakshina Kannada district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Palghar district
    • Odisha : Angul district, Balasore district, Bargarh district, Bolangir district, Boudh district, Cuttack district, Deogarh district, Dhenkanal district, Gajapati district, Ganjam district, Kalhandi district, Kandhamal district, Kendrapara district, Keonjhar district, Khurda district, Koraput district, Malkangiri district, Mayurbhanj district, Puri district, Rayagada district,Sambalpur district, Sundergarh district
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district, Kanchipuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Karur district, Krishnagiri district, Madurai district, Namakkal district, Pudukkottai district, Sivaganga district, Salem district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tiruvannamalai district, Villipuram district, Vellore district
  • Native : South America
  • World Distribution : Pantropical
  • Conservation Status : Least Concern (LC)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
    • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
    • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1.
    • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Mimosa pudica. Downloaded on 28 June 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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