Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word mimos, meaning “mimic”. There are two species in the genus that are notable. One is Mimosa pudica, because of the way it folds its leaves when touched or exposed to heat and music. It is native to southern Central and South America but is widely cultivated elsewhere for its curiosity value, both as a houseplant in temperate areas, and outdoors in the tropics. The other is Mimosa tenuiflora, which is best known for its use in shamanic ayahuasca brews due to the psychedelic drug dimethyltryptamine found in its root bark. Members of this genus are among the few plants capable of rapid movement; examples outside of Mimosa include Dionaea muscipula, the Venus Fly Trap, and Desmodium gyrans, the Telegraph Plant. The leaves of the plant close quickly when touched. Some mimosas raise their leaves in day and lower them at night, and experiments done by Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan on mimosas in 1729 provided the first evidence of biological clocks.

Mimosa pudica is commonly known as Sensitive Plant, Sleepy Plant, Humble Plant, Prayer Plant, Tickle Me Plant, Shame Plant, Sleeping Grass and Touch-Me-Not. The Latin specie name pudica means “shy, bashful or shrinking”. It is a creeping annual or perennial herb often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, to protect them from predators, re-opening minutes later. The species is native to South America and Central America. It grows mostly in shady areas, under trees or shrubs. Mimosa pudica can form root nodules that are habitable by nitrogen fixing bacteria. The bacteria are able to convert atmospheric nitrogen, which plants cannot use, into a form that plants can use. This trait is common among plants in the Fabaceae family.