Sensitive Plant
by Nate
Let’s Move
If someone asked you “Do plants move?” you would probably say no. No, no, no. Tell that to the Mimosa pudica (the Latin name for the sensitive plant). It will prove you wrong.
Some plants have cells (the building blocks of living things) in their stems that allow them to react to their environment. For example, the dandelion closes during the night, but the Mimosa pudica closes when touched or shaken and it even reacts to heat!
Mimosa pudica is known for its plant movement. Its stiff defense can harm a bug, but not intentionally. People love the Mimosa pudica because of its behavior, or movement. I have to ask you, would you get the Mimosa pudica?
Look At Me Now!
You might be wondering what the Mimosa pudica looks like, so here I go. It has a stem (a plant building base to hold the leaves) with tiny leaflets (tiny leaves on the stem). It also has small flowers an inch wide that are purple at the tips, but pink near the stem.
The plant only blooms in the summer because it needs heat. The Mimosa pudica is a plant that needs pollination from the wind and insects! Pollination is when pollen is spread to one plant to another.
The plant can grow up to five feet. So think, would you want to be a Mimosa pudica.
We've Got Some Predators
So you probably thought there could not be any predators for the Mimosa pudica. Ha, ha, ha, there are four predators known to man. A predator is an animal that eats another animal or plant. The predators are not startled by the Mimosa pudica’s movement, which most animals are. These predators might not always get a bite because if the Mimosa pudica feels threatened and annoyed too much it will drop down to the ground.
Predator #1: The spider mite. Of course it looks like a spider but with a red shell and 8 legs.
Predator #2: The carpenter worm. It looks like a caterpillar but does not become a butterfly.
Predator #3: The mimosa webworm. It acts like a spider by tangling and choking the Mimosa pudica. It actually acts like a caterpillar and it does turn into a butterfly- like insect.
Finally predator #4: Drumroll please...the acacia psyllid (A-casha-si-lid). It looks exactly like a wasp but it does not sting.
Now, although all of them are very, very small, they have a big impact to the Mimosa pudica’s life.
Live Free or Die.
You might be wondering, where could this plant live? Well I will tell you.
The Mimosa pudica lives in Central America or rainforests near the equator. The equator is an imaginary line around the center of the earth. Mimosa pudica lives in rainforests around the equator because it needs the rain, heat, and humidity (warm, dense and sticky) in order to germinate, or grow.
You can also buy the Mimosa pudica at your local plant store!
Title Unknown.
So here I am again and this is how I’m going to finish you off with...FUN FACTS! Let’s get started.
Fun fact #1. There are over 10 English names for this one plant. A few are the “touch-me-not plant”, the “shameful plant”, and the “humble plant. WOW, that’s a lot of names. But if you want to go to different countries there is over 100 different names for the Mimosa pudica in the whole entire world. Surprising. I know right!
Fun fact #2. It only takes 1 second for it to close. This happens from having tiny cells in its leaflets so it closes. And when it closes it forces water out of its cells. It works out its cells just by closing the leaves.
Finally fun fact #3. The reason it’s so sensitive is because it mimics (copies) animal movement. So the Mimosa pudica plant is like an animal!
Well now you can quiz your friends about if plants move or not. Trust me, they will never guess it right.
by Nate
Let’s Move
If someone asked you “Do plants move?” you would probably say no. No, no, no. Tell that to the Mimosa pudica (the Latin name for the sensitive plant). It will prove you wrong.
Some plants have cells (the building blocks of living things) in their stems that allow them to react to their environment. For example, the dandelion closes during the night, but the Mimosa pudica closes when touched or shaken and it even reacts to heat!
Mimosa pudica is known for its plant movement. Its stiff defense can harm a bug, but not intentionally. People love the Mimosa pudica because of its behavior, or movement. I have to ask you, would you get the Mimosa pudica?
Look At Me Now!
You might be wondering what the Mimosa pudica looks like, so here I go. It has a stem (a plant building base to hold the leaves) with tiny leaflets (tiny leaves on the stem). It also has small flowers an inch wide that are purple at the tips, but pink near the stem.
The plant only blooms in the summer because it needs heat. The Mimosa pudica is a plant that needs pollination from the wind and insects! Pollination is when pollen is spread to one plant to another.
The plant can grow up to five feet. So think, would you want to be a Mimosa pudica.
We've Got Some Predators
So you probably thought there could not be any predators for the Mimosa pudica. Ha, ha, ha, there are four predators known to man. A predator is an animal that eats another animal or plant. The predators are not startled by the Mimosa pudica’s movement, which most animals are. These predators might not always get a bite because if the Mimosa pudica feels threatened and annoyed too much it will drop down to the ground.
Predator #1: The spider mite. Of course it looks like a spider but with a red shell and 8 legs.
Predator #2: The carpenter worm. It looks like a caterpillar but does not become a butterfly.
Predator #3: The mimosa webworm. It acts like a spider by tangling and choking the Mimosa pudica. It actually acts like a caterpillar and it does turn into a butterfly- like insect.
Finally predator #4: Drumroll please...the acacia psyllid (A-casha-si-lid). It looks exactly like a wasp but it does not sting.
Now, although all of them are very, very small, they have a big impact to the Mimosa pudica’s life.
Live Free or Die.
You might be wondering, where could this plant live? Well I will tell you.
The Mimosa pudica lives in Central America or rainforests near the equator. The equator is an imaginary line around the center of the earth. Mimosa pudica lives in rainforests around the equator because it needs the rain, heat, and humidity (warm, dense and sticky) in order to germinate, or grow.
You can also buy the Mimosa pudica at your local plant store!
Title Unknown.
So here I am again and this is how I’m going to finish you off with...FUN FACTS! Let’s get started.
Fun fact #1. There are over 10 English names for this one plant. A few are the “touch-me-not plant”, the “shameful plant”, and the “humble plant. WOW, that’s a lot of names. But if you want to go to different countries there is over 100 different names for the Mimosa pudica in the whole entire world. Surprising. I know right!
Fun fact #2. It only takes 1 second for it to close. This happens from having tiny cells in its leaflets so it closes. And when it closes it forces water out of its cells. It works out its cells just by closing the leaves.
Finally fun fact #3. The reason it’s so sensitive is because it mimics (copies) animal movement. So the Mimosa pudica plant is like an animal!
Well now you can quiz your friends about if plants move or not. Trust me, they will never guess it right.