| Description | An oddity in the plant world having leaves which fold up when touched. Not the easiest plant to keep alive. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | All Plants, Indoor Foliage |
| Hardiness Zone | tropical |
| Sunlight | bright |
| Moisture | evenly moist, never very dry or very wet |
| Growing Media | average house |
| Temperature | average house to warm, never less than 62-65 degrees F |
| Flowers | The pink flowers remind me of tiny bottle brushes. If you want seeds, don't deadhead the flowers and seeds pods should form. |
| Leaves | The branches are wiry and are becomes lined with prickles as the plant matures. The compound leaves consist of 10-25 small leaflets. The entire leaf will fold up when touched. The touch triggers a quick wilting reaction called seisonastic movement. It may also fold up at night, a nyconastic movement. This is considered to be a defense mechanism from herbaceous insects. |
| Dimensions | A sprawling to upright shrub reported to reach 3'. I have had them about a foot tall when grown in a flower pots. |
| Propagation | To improve germination Sensitive plant seeds need to be scarified. I put the seeds in boiling water, shut off the heat and let them soak for at least 1 hour. We have done comparison tests and non scarified seeds will give a 10% germination rate, where as scarified can reach as high as 90%. The boiling water softens the seed coat, allowing water to penetrate and start the germination process |
| Misc Facts | Has naturalized throughout most of the tropics becoming an invasive weed in many areas. |
| Author's Notes | One of my students who was of Asian decent, told me her mother used this as a medicine. |
| Notes & Reference | #02-Exotic Plant Manual (Alfred Byrd Graf) |
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