Albizia julibrissin |
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Mimosa, Persian silk tree, silk-tree |
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Habit | Trees to 6 m. |
Stems | strigillose, bark light gray, smooth, with inconspicuous scattered, brownish lenticels. |
Leaves | 20–32 cm; stipules 2 mm; petiole 3–7.5 cm, glabrescent or puberulent; gland proximal or sub-basal, elliptic, length to 1.5 times width; pinnae (4 or)5–12 pairs, 5.5–10 cm, with gland between 1 or 2 distal pairs; leaflets (13–)17–22(–36) pairs, blades not bicolored, oblong, 0.7–1.5 cm, venation palmate, midvein marginal or submarginal, base strongly asymmetric, truncate, apex acute, short-mucronate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent; terminal pair not heteromorphic. |
Inflorescences | 18–25-flowered, terminal or axillary, capitula; axis densely strigillose. |
Peduncles | 3–9 cm, densely strigulose; bracts linear-lanceolate, 2(–5) mm. |
Pedicels | to 1 mm. |
Flowers | calyx campanulate, (2.5–)6 mm, lobes 5 or 6, glabrescent; corolla campanulate, (8–)12 mm, lobes 4 or 5, strigillose distally; stamens 32, white proximally, pink distally, 30–35 mm, tube (10–)12 mm; terminal or central flower calyx 3 mm, lobes 5, glabrous; corolla 9–12 mm, lobes 5; stamens 28 mm, tube long-exerted, to 18 mm. |
Legumes | fuscous-ferruginous, 10–20 × 1.5–2.6 cm, margins straight or slightly constricted, base acute, apex rounded, narrowing to a beak to 1.5 cm, valves membranous, glabrescent, smooth or slightly rough. |
Seeds | 6–8(–10), 9 × 5 mm. |
2n | = 26, 52. |
Albizia julibrissin |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer; fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Disturbed roadsides, thickets, riverbanks. |
Elevation | 100–700 m. [300–2300 ft.] |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CA; CT; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV; sw Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies (Jamaica), South America (Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay), s Europe, s, se Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand)]
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Discussion | Albizia julibrissin is commonly cultivated and is thought to be the hardiest of the Albizia species. It is especially attractive when flowering; staminal filaments are deep pink, grading to white at the base. Albizia julibrissin forma rosea (Carrière) Rehder is a dwarf, bushier plant with bright pink flowers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Name authority | Durazzini: Mag. Tosc. 3(4): 13, plate [opp. p. 1]. (1772) |
Web links |
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