Giant Sensitive Plant

Description:

DECLARED CLASS 2 WEED. Invasive scrambler. Grows prostrate but also grows up and over bushes, stem square in cross section which would give it strength. Compound leaf approx 8-10cms long. Covered in recurved spines, anything that brushes past is grabbed by the spines.

Habitat:

Growing in disturbed area beside dirt road. James Cook University, Cairns QLD

Notes:

Native to Brazil. Giant sensitive plant is a serious weed of tropical crops and pastures. Its woody stems are covered in prickles. It invades areas where the soil has been disturbed, forming tangled thorny infestations that are impossible for livestock or people to penetrate. It smothers pastures and crops like sugarcane, as well as native plants. (ex-Mimosa invisa)