How sensitive is a plant?

In this case... a lot! One of the wonders of travelling for me, is the amount of new things you learn. And here, I'm sharing what I found in a botanical garden in kandy, Sri Lanka.

This plant is native to central and south America, but can now be found in most tropical regions, and is spread throughout Asia as well. Although the photos are from a botanical garden, I did found her in the wild a couple of days after.

At first sight, just an ordinary plant, nothing special about it, right? But what she does is amazing! There is a reason why it is called sensitive plant. Look how she is before being touched:

But as soon as you touch its leaves...

it reacts to the touch and the leaves roll inwards! And it does it super fast, in just a few seconds! After a few minutes, the leaves gradually roll back to the initial shape.

A few possible explanations for the behaviour exist, such as protection from predation, or reducing water losses from evaporation. Whatever the reason is... is looks pretty cool to me!

Disclaimer: no plants were harmed during this photoshoot :)