Is mimosa pudica toxic? Turns out it can also predict the weather

Mimosa pudica is an interesting plant. Its leaves are extremely sensitive. When we touch it with a finger, its branches and leaves immediately curl up. For this reason, many people want to grow a pot of it. So, is mimosa pudica toxic? Can it predict the weather?

1. Is mimosa pudica toxic?

Mimosa pudica is toxic.

1. Mimosa pudica is also called sensitive plant, touch-me-not, humble plant, shameplant, sleepy plant, shy plant, and so on. It is a perennial herb or subshrub of the Fabaceae genus; the stem is cylindrical, branched, with scattered, downward-curving hooked prickles and reflexed bristles; the leaves are digitate and close and droop when touched; the flowering period is from March to October, with flowers borne singly or 2-3 in the leaf axils, small and pale red; the fruiting period is from May to November, with oblong pods.

2. Mimosa pudica contains a substance called mimosine o-β-D-glucoside, which is mildly toxic. Long-term contact with or ingestion of it can cause the hair follicles in skin cells to deteriorate, leading to yellowing and even loss of hair and eyebrows, and can also cause cataracts and growth inhibition; if you do not want to become bald, try not to touch it, and do not ingest it by mistake. Just view it from a distance.

3. Mimosa pudica can be kept on a balcony with good ventilation. Do not place it indoors, so that the plant cannot carry out photosynthesis and release toxins; if there are pregnant women or children in the home, it is not recommended to grow it. Pregnant women have a weaker constitution, and growing it can very easily cause hair loss in pregnant women, and in severe cases lead to miscarriage. Moreover, mimosa pudica is small and interesting, which will arouse children's interest, and long-term touching will cause children's hair and eyebrows to turn yellow and fall out.

4. Although mimosa pudica is toxic, the whole plant can be used as medicine. It is sweet, astringent, and slightly bitter in taste, and slightly cold in nature. It has the effects of cooling blood and detoxifying, clearing heat and draining dampness, and calming the nerves. It mainly treats colds, high fever in children, bronchitis, edema, cough with blood from overexertion, neurasthenia, insomnia, sores and swellings, herpes zoster, and other conditions; because mimosa pudica has a little toxicity, it should not be taken alone and must be used together with other medicines.

2. Can mimosa pudica predict the weather?

Mimosa pudica can predict the weather.

1. Mimosa pudica is a wonderful plant that can foretell changes in sunny and rainy weather. If its leaves are touched by hand, watered, or exposed to a typhoon, they will curl up. If the leaves close quickly when touched and open very slowly, it means the weather will turn clear. If the leaves contract slowly when touched, droop slowly, or even close slightly and then open again, it means the weather will turn from clear to overcast or it is about to rain.

2. Mimosa pudica can also predict disastrous weather changes. It will produce growth activities contrary to its normal behavior in response to sudden out-of-season temperature differences, changes in geomagnetism, geoelectricity, and so on; it can also sense earthquakes. Some scientists have found through research that under normal conditions, the leaves of mimosa pudica open during the day and close at night. If the abnormal phenomenon of closing during the day and opening at night occurs, it is a sign that an earthquake is about to happen.

Summary: Mimosa pudica is toxic. It contains a substance called mimosine, which is mildly toxic. Long-term contact with or ingestion of it can cause hair loss. If you do not want to become bald, try not to touch it, and do not ingest it by mistake. Mimosa pudica can predict the weather and can also sense earthquakes. Therefore, you can grow a pot of this plant at home to predict the weather and guard against natural disasters.