Albizia julibrissin |
Albizia kalkora |
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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. | Trees (3–)5–7 m. Stems glabrous, bark brown, rough, with protuberant 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. |
23–30 cm; stipule length unknown; petiole 3–7.5 cm, glabrous; gland near middle, elliptic, length to 1.5 times width; pinnae 2 or 3(or 4) pairs, 8.5–13 cm, rachis without glands; leaflets (5–)8–10(–14) pairs, blades slightly bicolored, oblong, slightly asymmetric, 2.5–3.5(–4.5) cm, surfaces with conspicuous palmate venation, midvein marginal or submarginal, base rounded or slightly acute, apex rounded, mucronate, surfaces glabrous; terminal pair slightly heteromorphic, not larger. |
Inflorescences | 18–25-flowered, terminal or axillary, capitula; axis densely strigillose. |
15–20-flowered, terminal or axillary, capitulalike corymbs; axis glabrous. |
Peduncles | 3–9 cm, densely strigulose; bracts linear-lanceolate, 2(–5) mm. |
4–7 cm, glabrous; bracts basal. |
Pedicels | to 1 mm. |
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. |
calyx tubular, 3 mm, lobes 5, sparsely strigillose; corolla infundibuliform, 7–9 mm, lobes 5, sparsely strigillose; stamens 30, 15 mm, tube to 5 mm; central flowers sessile, calyx tubular, 4 mm, lobes 5; corolla infundibuliform, 12 mm, lobes 5, sparsely strigillose; stamens 30–35, 20 mm, tube 17 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. |
stipe to 1 cm, ochre or reddish brown, 0.7–2 × 1.5–3 cm, margins inconspicuous, base and apex acute, valves membranous, shortly pubescent or glabrescent. |
Seeds | 6–8(–10), 9 × 5 mm. |
4–12, 6 × 4 mm. |
2n | = 26, 52. |
= 26. |
Albizia julibrissin |
Albizia kalkora |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer; fruiting summer–fall. | Flowering spring–early summer; fruiting summer–fall. |
Habitat | Disturbed roadsides, thickets, riverbanks. | Disturbed thickets, roadsides. |
Elevation | 100–700 m. (300–2300 ft.) | 100–200 m. (300–700 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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NC; Asia |
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.) |
Young leaflets of Albizia kalkora are yellow-green, while those of A. julibrissin are dark green; A. kalkora has fewer pinnae [2 or 3(or 4) pairs] and leaflets (5–14 pairs), compared to A. julibrissin (4–12 pairs of pinnae with 13–36 leaflet pairs per pinna); flowers of A. kalkora are paler and more creamy than pink, while those of A. julibrissin are more commonly pink to dark pink. Some specimens from Durham County in North Carolina (where Albizia kalkora grows near A. julibrissin) exhibit intermediate characteristics and may represent hybrids. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 11. | FNA vol. 11. |
Parent taxa | Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Albizia | Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Albizia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Mimosa kalkora | |
Name authority | Durazzini: Mag. Tosc. 3(4): 13, plate [opp. p. 1]. (1772) | (Roxburgh) Prain: J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 66: 511. (1897) — (as Albizzia) |
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