listed as an invasive weed? I picked some of this at the park 3 days ago... still have dried flowers in my car! I'm going tomorrow and ROLL in it!
As a kid we had some growing on our property and to me it smells kind of like Fruit Loops... How fitting : )
"25 times more potent in killing the infective larvae of strongyloides than the leading prescription medications."
http://www.scientificlib.com/en/Biology/Plants/Magnoliophyta/MimosaPudica01.html
"Mimosa pudica (pudica= shy) is a creeping annual or perennial herb often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, re-opening minutes later. The species is native to South America and Central America, but is now a pantropical weed.
Medicinal uses
Extract of Mimosa pudica immobilizes the filariform larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis in less than one hour.
In contemporary medicine, Mimosa pudica is being investigated for its potential to yield novel chemotherapeutic compounds. It contains an alkaloid called mimosine, which has been found to have potent antiproliferative and apoptotic effects. Aqueous extracts of the roots of the plant have shown significant neutralizing effects on the lethality of the venom of the monocled cobra (Naja Kaouthia). It appears to inhibit the myotoxicity and enzyme activity of cobra venom."
http://www.bitterrootrestoration.com/medicinal-plants/medicinal-values-of-mim...
The alkaloid Mimosine, found in Mimosa P. also inhibits DNA replication!
"the effect of mimosine was similar to that of gamma-ray irradiation... results suggest that in addition to inhibiting the elongation step of DNA synthesis, mimosine inhibits the initiation of DNA replication as well."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9187129
http://www.scientificlib.com/en/Biology/Plants/Magnoliophyta/MimosaPudica01.html