sensitive plant

American  

noun

1. Also called humble plant.  a tropical American plant, Mimosa pudica, cultivated in greenhouses, having bipinnate leaves whose leaflets fold together when touched.

2. any of various other plants that are sensitive to touch.

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sensitive plant British  

noun

1. a tropical American mimosa plant, Mimosa pudica, the leaflets and stems of which fold if touched

2. any similar plant, such as the leguminous plant Cassia nictitans of E North America

3. informal a person who is easily upset

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Etymology

Origin of sensitive plant

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

The fire also swept through parts of the island that have rare habitats for sensitive plant and animal species found nowhere else, such as the endangered San Clemente loggerhead shrike, a carnivorous songbird.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2024

Here, a normal sensitive plant reacts to touch:

From Scientific American • Jan. 28, 2018

But that willowy, sensitive plant Ben Whishaw as the strapping, rough-hewed farmer John Proctor?

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2016

They are designed to show you things and help you avoid trampling over sensitive plant and animal habitats.

From Washington Post • May 31, 2013

Abelman certainly wanted a great deal of money; that sensitive plant of an Abelman must have been greatly offended.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole