Fruit: A pod, an inch long or more,
containing numerous seeds.
Preferred Habitat - Dry fields, sandy wasteland, roadsides.
Flowering Season - July-October.
Distribution - New England westward to Indiana, south to Georgia
and Texas.
How many of us ever pause to test the sensitiveness of this
exquisite foliage that borders the roadsides, and in appearance
is almost identical with the South American sensitive plant's, so
commonly cultivated in hothouses here? Failing to see its fine
little leaflets fold together instantly when brushed with the
hand, as they do in the tropical species (Mimosa pudica), many
pass on, concluding its title a misnomer. By simply touching the
leaves, however roughly, only a tardy and slight movement
follows. A sharp blow produces quicker effect, while if the whole
plant be shaken by forcibly snapping the stem with the finger,
all the leaves will be strongly affected; their sensitiveness
being apparently more aroused by vibration through jarring than
by contact with foreign bodies.
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