There are several species of the popular “sensitive plant” in the Petén area of Guatemala: Mimosa pigra and Mimosa pudica. The Mimosa species that grows along the edges of lakes and rivers is the most common. We found thousands of this plant along the shores of Lake Yaxha and especially along the seasonally inundates shores of Rio Ixtinto (southwest part of Laguna Yaxha, Parque Nacional Yaxha Nakum Naranjo). Sensitive plants are the popular plants that close their leaves when touched.
The Mimosa that likes waterlogged areas along rivers is found “by the millions” along Arroyo Petexbatun. This stream flows from the Laguna Petexbatun area to Sayaxché where it joins the Rio La Pasión. We were visiting friends at the hotel Posada Caribe and noticed kilometer after kilometer of this riverside Mimosa. It is called zarza by local Peteneros. Zarza is also the name for the other sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica L., so we will need to double-check. But so far we estimate the wetlands Mimosa is M. pigra. We are preparing a full report to list all Mimosa species potentially available in wetlands of Peten; you will also find these in seasonally flooded ecosystems around Peten: Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Belize, Izabal and Alta Verapaz.
As a child my parents showed me equivalent sensitive plants, and often when visiting Petén people show me the fast-folding leaves of Mimosa pudica. Since we were in a boat and did not want to tip over, I avoided leaning over the side to test the sensitivity of the leaves. My interest is in ecosystems and biodiversity of plants of Guatemala, especially of the Mayan areas of Petén. The riverside Mimosa and another common plant Passiflora foetida are a giveaway for a seasonally flooded area. Most rivers and lakes in Petén rise several meters in water height during the rainy season, so any plants you see along the shore in October will often be totally underwater by November. In fact due to heavy rains the week before we were on the Arroyo Petexbatun, most of these Mimosa plants had their bases under water.
Posted October, 2019
