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Mimosa, Persian silk tree, silk-tree

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

Phenology Flowering spring–summer; fruiting summer–fall.
Habitat Disturbed roadsides, thickets, riverbanks.
Elevation 100–700 m. (300–2300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
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)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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 Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Albizia
Sibling taxa
A. kalkora, A. lebbeck, A. procera
Name authority Durazzini: Mag. Tosc. 3(4): 13, plate [opp. p. 1]. (1772)
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