A plant when touched will fold its leaflets inwards, so it got the names like Sensitive Plant, Touch me not, Shame Plant and the like. The whole plant including the root is useful in the medicinal point of view;-

Scientific Name: Mimosa pudica Linn.
Family: Leguminosae

Name:
⦁ Sanskrit – Lajjalu, Namaskari, Raktapadi
⦁ Tamil – Thottal vadi
⦁ Hindi – Lajjavanti
⦁ Malayalam - Thottalvadi

Morphology

Mimosa pudica is a shrub/creeper which is an annual or perennial flowering plant having thorns in its stem and grows 2-3 feet in height. The leaves are bipinnately compound, with one or two pinnae pairs. The plant when touched will fold its leaflets inwards, so it got the names like touch me not, shame plant and all. Flowers are ovoid in shape and purple in colour, originating from leaf axils. Fruits consist of clusters of pods which break later and contain brown seeds.

Chemical constituents

Alkaloid Mimosine – has antiproliferative and apoptotic effects.
Aqueous extract of root contain Tannin (10%) – Antitoxic

Properties

Guna – Laghu, Ruksha
Rasa – Kashaya, Tikta
Vipaka – Katu
Veerya – Seetha

Medicinal uses

Useful part – whole plant including root

⦁ It is useful for Kapha and Pitta diseases
⦁ Local administration – Apply the juice of leaves in Vrana (Abscess), Kshatha (Fracture) and Bhagandhara (Fistula)
⦁ Bleeding disorders – juice of entire plant with honey
⦁ Leucorrhoea – Powdered plant can be given with honey along with other medication; seed – can be given as aphrodisiac (shukra dourbalya)
⦁ Diabetes – entire plant juice twice daily, by monitoring the glucose level.
⦁ Visha (Toxicity) -  useful for Spider, Scorpion bite – Apply the paste thrice a day with pathya.
⦁ Digestive system – athisara (diarrhea), bleeding hemorrhoids can be used internally.