Touch
Me Not

Touch Me Not

Touch Me Not is a wonderful and curious plant which is found growing wild throughout the tropical world. It native origin is unclear. Its fern-like leaves close up and droop when touched, usually re-opening within minutes. It has prickly stems and small, fluffy, ball shaped pink flowers in summer. It grows to a height of 50 cm with a spread of 30 cm. The leaves are bipinnate, fern like and pale green- closing when disturbed. Stalked pale pink or purple flower-heads arise from the leaf axils. The round to ovoid heads are 8-10 mm in diameter (excluding the stamens). On close examination, it is seen that the floret petals are red in their upper part and the filaments are pink to lavender. The flowers are pollinated by the wind and insects. The seeds have hard seed coats which restricts germination.

Sensitive Plant

Regional Names

• Bengali:
  লজ্জাবতী
• Hindi:
  छुई-मुई, लाजवंती
• Kannada:
  ಮುಟ್ಟಿದರೆ ಮುನಿ
• Marathi:
  लाजाळू
• Sanskrit:
  लज्जालुसस्यम्
• Tamil:
  தொட்டாச்சுருங்கி
• Telugu:
  అత్తిపత్తి

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