MIMOSA. 
412 
And dels, alive through all her tender form, 
The whifper'd murmurs of the gath’ring dorm ; 
Shuts her fweet eye-lids to approaching night; 
And hails with frefnen’d charms the riling light. 
“ Naturalifts (fays Dr. Darwin) have not explained the im¬ 
mediate caule of the collapfmg of the fenfitive plant; the 
leaves meet and dole in the night during the deep of the 
plant, (which in Sweden, according to Linnaeus, is from 
iix in the evening to three in the morning during the 
months of June and July,) or when expofed to much cold 
in the day-time, in the lame manner as when they are af- 
fefted by external violence, folding their upper furfaces 
together, and in part over each other like fcales or tiles ; 
fo as to expofe as little of the upper furface as may be to 
the air; but do not indeed collaple quite fo far; for, when 
touched in the night during their lleep, they fall dill far¬ 
ther ; efpecially when touched on the footftalks between 
'the Hems and the leadets, which feems to be their mod 
'fenfitive or irritable part. Now, as their lituation after 
being expofed to external violence redoubles their deep, 
but with a greater degree of collaple, may it not be owing 
to a numbnefs or paralyds confequent to too violent irri¬ 
tation, like the huntings of animals from pain or fatigue ? 
A fenfitive plant being kept in a dark room till dome hours 
after day-break, its leaves and leaf-dalks were collapfed 
as in its mod profound deep ; and, on expodng it to the 
light, above twenty minutes palfed before the plant was 
thoroughly awake, and had quite expanded itfelf. Dur¬ 
ing the night, the upper or fmoother furfaces of the leaves 
are apprelled; this would deem to diow that the office of 
this furface of the leaf was to expofe the duids of the 
plant to the light as well as to the air.” Loves of the 
Plants, ii. 25. 
Mr. Profelfor Martyn, after quoting the above, pro¬ 
ceeds as follows : “ It would be to little purpol'e to trour 
ble the reader with the feveral idle dories related of thefe 
plants by travellers, or to infert what has been laid by 
others who have attempted to account for the motion of 
their leaves on their being touched. I lhall therefore only 
mention what I have mylelf obferved in thefe plants, for 
more than forty years that I have cultivated them. 
“ The drd is, that they are more or lefs fufceptible of 
the touch or predure, according to the warmth of the air 
in which they grow ; for thofe plants wdiich are kept in a 
warm ftove, contrail their leaves immediately on being 
touched, either with the hand, a dick, or any other thing, 
or by the wind blowing upon them. Some of the forts 
only contrail their fmall leaves, which are placed along 
the midrib ; others not only contrail their fmall leaves, 
but the footdalk alio declines downward on being 
touched ; the fil'd are called Jhjitive, and the lecond hum¬ 
ble, plants; but, when thefe plants are placed in a cooler 
lituation, they do not move fo foon, nor contrail fo clofe- 
ly, as thofe which are in a greater warmth; and thofe 
which are entirely expofed to the open air have very little 
motion, but remain in one date, neither expanded nor 
doled, but between both, efpecially in cool w'eather; nor 
do thefe Ihut themfelves at night, as thole do which are 
in a warm temperature of air. 
“ The fecond is, that it is not the light which caufes 
them to expand, as fome have affirmed, who have had no 
experience of thefe things ; for in the longed days of 
iummer they are generally contrailed by five or fix in the 
evening, when the fun remains above the horizon two or 
three hours longer ; and, although the glalies of the dove 
in which they are placed are covered dole with flutters 
to exclude the light in the middle of the day, yet, if the 
air of the dove is u arm, the leaves of the plants will con¬ 
tinue fully expanded, as I have feveral times obferved. 
Nor do thefe plants continue Ihut till the fun riles in the 
morning ; for I have frequently found their leaves fully 
expanded by the break of day in the morning ; fo that it 
is plain the light is not the caule of their expanfion, nor 
the want of it that of their contraction. I have alfo ob¬ 
ferved, that thofe plants which are placed in the greatefl 
warmth in winter, continue vigorous, and retain, their fa¬ 
culty of contracting on being touched ; but thole which 
are in a moderate warrhth, have little or no motion. 
“ When any of the upper leaves of thefe .plants are 
touched, if they fall down and touch thofe which are be¬ 
low them, it will occafion their contracting and falling, 
fo that, by one touching another, they will continue fall¬ 
ing for lome time. When the air of the dove in which 
thefe plants dand, is in a proper temperature of warmth, 
the plants will recover themfelves, and their leaves will 
be fully expanded, in about eight or ten minutes. I have 
frequently watched them as they have been recovering, 
and have always found it has been by a vibratory motion, 
like the index of a clock. Some of the forts are lo fufcep¬ 
tible of the touch, that the fmallelt drop of water falling 
on their leaves will caule them to contracl; but others do 
not move without a much greater prellure. 
“ The roots of all the forts have a very drong difagree- 
able odour, ahnod like that of a common fewer. I have 
met with fome accounts of thefe plants, in which it is 
mentioned, that the leaves and branches have a poilonous 
quality, and that the Indians extraCl a poiion from them, 
which kills by llow degrees ; and that the root of the plant 
is the only remedy to expel it. How far this is true I 
cannot fay, having never made any experiments on the 
qualities of thefe plants, but, if they have lo deadly 
a quality as related, this fenlibility with which they are 
endued may be deligned by Providence to caution per- 
fons from being too free with them ; and, as many of 
them are flrongly armed with thorns, that is a guard 
againll their being eaten by animals; for, in all the en¬ 
quiries which I have made of thofe perfons who have re¬ 
dded in the countries where they naturally grow, I could 
never learn that any animal will browfe upon them.” 
V. With doubly-pinnate leaves. 
21. Mimofa entada, or ramping mimofa. The fame 
with the next fpecies. 
22. Mimofa fcandens, climbing mimofa, or cocoon : 
unarmed; leaves conjugate, terminated by a tendril ; 
leaflets two-paired. This climbs to the tops of the tailed 
trees, to the height of a hundred and fifty feet, frequent¬ 
ly. overfpreading many of the neighbouring branches, 
and forming large arbours. The withs are llender, but 
tough and flexile; driated, did", and fmooth. Flowers 
approximating, fubfeffile, fmall; filaments twenty to 
twenty-four, yellow, fh.orter than the corolla, and fpring- 
ing from its bafe. Mod of the flowers are abortive. 
Browne fays, that the female plants throw out their 
flowers feparate, and are fucceeded by fo many pods. 
Loureiro found no male flowers, but all hermaphro¬ 
dites. He afligns, as Linnaeus does, no more than ten 
flamens to the flowers ; and fays that they are twice as 
long as the corolla. Native of both Indies and Cochin- 
china. In the Wed Indies it is called cocoon. 
23. Mimofa plena, or double-flow'ered leniitive-plant: 
unarmed ; leaves bipinnate; fpikes five-damened; the 
lower ones full or double. This was difcovered by Dr. 
Houflon at Vera Cruz, growing in flagnant water, where 
the dalks were very broad and flat, and floated on the 
furface; but, where the water was dried up, the dalks 
grew upright, and were round, which is always the cafe 
when the plant is cultivated in a garden ; fo that they 
might ealily pafs for different plants with thofe who never 
faw them growing in both fituations. When cultivated 
in a garden, this has great relemblance to the 27th : but 
the dalks never grow fo er.e< 5 l; the wings of the leaves 
are longer, and dand more horizontal, in this; the heads 
of flowers are much larger, the ilamens are longer, and 
the flowers on the under fide of the fpike, which have no 
flamens, are double ; the pods alfo are Ihorter, and much 
broader, than thofe of M. punCtata. It is an annual 
plant in this country ; and has fince been found in the 
illand of Barbuda, in a marlhy fpot. 
24.. 
