Witnessed by: TCM · Ayurveda · Unani
Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica), of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae; Mimosoideae) family. Creeping, prickly, sprawling subshrub; native range: Native to tropical South America (Brazil); now a pantropical weed of waste ground, naturalised across India, China and the warm East. Globally recognized as lajjalu (also namaskari, samanga) in Sanskrit, lajwanti, chhui-mui in Hindi, han xiu cao (含羞草) in Chinese, lajwanti (لاجونتی) in Urdu, and touch-me-not, humble plant, shame plant in English. The part used is whole plant and root. Bipinnate feathery leaflets that collapse and fold within seconds of a touch (thigmonasty) and reopen at rest; small lilac-pink globular powder-puff flower heads; slender bristly stems with recurved prickles.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
SENSITIVE PLANT
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Sensitive plant
- Scientific name
- Mimosa pudica L.
- Family
- Fabaceae (Leguminosae; Mimosoideae)
Form
- Part used
- whole plant and root
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · astringent
- Ayurveda
- bitter (tikta) · astringent (kashaya)
- Unani
- astringent
Temperature
TCM: cool (verging on cold)
Ayurveda: cooling (sheeta)
Unani: cold & dry (2nd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses agree on a cooling, heat-clearing nature
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Liver · Lung · Stomach
- Unani
- intestines · uterus
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat and drains damp, cools the blood, calms the shen and quiets the spirit, resolves toxicity and reduces swelling
- Ayurveda
- kashaya-tikta and sheeta, hence stambhana (styptic, haemostatic) and grahi (absorbent, binding); vrana-ropana (wound-healing), kapha-pitta-hara, raktapitta-hara and kandughna
- Unani
- qabid (astringent), habis-ud-dam (styptic, staunches bleeding), and mujaffif (drying, wound-healing)
Cautions
- Contraindications
- constipation and hard, dry stools, where its astringent binding nature aggravates; caution in pregnancy
- Toxicity
- low in customary doses; the plant contains the amino acid mimosine and traces of alkaloid, so prolonged high doses are avoided
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