A little wonder, every day

Why the sensitive plant folds its leaflets

Жива Mimosa pudica з листками; статичне фото не показує часову послідовність руху / Living Mimosa pudica with leaves; a still photograph does not show a movement sequence. Credit: Goodymeraj; CC0. http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=142612631

Історична ботанічна таблиця Mimosa pudica з Flora de Filipinas; ілюстрація, не фотографія досліду / Historical botanical plate of Mimosa pudica from Flora de Filipinas; an illustration, not an experiment photograph.

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Жива Mimosa pudica з листками; статичне фото не показує часову послідовність руху / Living Mimosa pudica with leaves; a still photograph does not show a movement sequence. Credit: Goodymeraj; CC0. http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=142612631

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Mimosa pudica, the sensitive plant, can rapidly fold its leaflets after touch or injury. The movement involves changes in turgor, the water pressure within specialized cells in motor organs called pulvini. Electrical and calcium signals help trigger the response. This is plant physiology, rather than evidence of human-like fear or animal muscles.