Plants That Move
Plants can’t walk, but they can move: leaves that fold at a touch or at nightfall, and flowers that open at a set hour or after rain.
Touch-Me-Not (Lajjawati)
बुहारी झार / लज्जावती झार
Mimosa pudica
Touch a leaf and its leaflets fold up within seconds, as water rushes out of cells at their base. The sudden movement may startle hungry insects and animals.
Never Never Plant
Ctenanthe burle-marxii
Silvery leaves with dark green feather marks and purple undersides. Like the prayer plants it is related to, it folds its leaves up at night.
Tamarind
इमली
Tamarindus indica
At night, and on cloudy days, its small leaflets fold together in pairs, then open again in the sun. Its brown pods never split open: animals, and people, eat the sour pulp and spread the seeds.
Four O’Clock
मालती फूल
Mirabilis jalapa
Four o’clocks open in late afternoon and stay open all night, when their scent draws moths with tongues long enough to reach the nectar.
Rain Lily
लसुने फूल
Zephyranthes candida
It flowers a few days after heavy rain, with white six-petaled flowers popping up among its grassy leaves.
More in How Plants Live
The garden is alive and changes through the year. Some plants flower, fruit, or rest only in certain seasons, so what you see depends on when you visit.
See them for yourself
Every plant here grows on our campus in Bhaktapur. Walk the garden on your visit.
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