#Club100 || Mimosa Pudica: the shy princess

”What is a weed? A plant whose virtuese have not been discovered.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Where I live all the houses have a small garden on the side of the house. Even if it couldn't be categorized as a mini garden, there must be at least two or three flower pots there. Even if there aren't a few flower pots that you can see, at least there are certain types of plants that live in a home's environment.

I don't understand how this good culture is formed and persists in our society. Even for a newly built house, the occupants must first plant some plants before the house is occupied. So when the house is ready to be occupied, some plants are already growing around the house.

Even though our lives are very familiar with plants, whether from flowers or other nutritious plants, this time I want to share with one type of plant that I'm sure many people consider a weed or a nuisance plant.

In the local language this plant is called Bak Pihmi. But in a more general language this plant is called Putri Malu. The scientific name of this plant is Mimosa Pudica. Called the Putri Malu because of the nature of this plant which when touched, the leaves will immediately close. It was as if he didn't want to be touched, and when touched this plant seemed to feel very blushed. In translation, Putri Malu means Shy Princess. Yups, this plant is like a shy princess.

Based on its character, mimosa is a unique plant species. This plant is also basically quite beautiful. The leaves are distinctively small and lined on the leaf bones with a dark green color. When in bloom, the flowers also look very beautiful with a perfectly round shape like most dandelions, although I've never seen them blowing in the wind. But it looks almost exactly like that. Beautiful pink flowers, very elegant when combined with a shy character.

I don't really understand why this unique and beautiful plant has been stigmatized as a weed and even added with the title of nuisance. The only thing that makes sense to me is simply because this plant has thorns. But it is very unfair when compared to roses which also have thorns but are very much loved as a beautiful flower. Even the thorns on this Mimosa plant are not as many as the thorns on a cactus tree. And even if the other reason was that the mimosa didn't give off a rose-like scent, I couldn't sense any scent from the cactus either.

By the time I think about it harder, I want to argue with someone who's been dead for a long time. That person was Ralph Waldo Emerson. He is an American lecturer and poet who has shared his ideas through dozens of essays and more than 1,500 public lectures.

In his very famous quote, Ralph once stated that weeds are only considered weeds when their benefits have not been discovered. First I get this quote, I strongly agree with the leader of the transcendentalism movement in the mid-19th century. But when I found out that Mimosa's plant has so many medicinal properties, and that it's still considered a nuisance weed, I began to question the old man's statement.

Among the many medical properties of mimosa which is high in antioxidants, this plant can be used as a remedy for diarrhea, heal itching and wounds, treat broken bones or fractures, treat hair loss, cure hemorrhoids, treat diabetes, treat high blood pressure, and many other benefits.

However, until now, this plant which has many healing benefits is still considered a nuisance weed.

Hey old man Ralph, can you get up again and we talk about this?