Everything about Albizia totally explained
Albizia is a
genus of about 150
species of mostly fast-growing
subtropical and
tropical trees and
shrubs in the Subfamily
Mimosoideae of the
legume family, Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in
Asia,
Africa,
Madagascar,
Central,
South, and southern
North America and
Australia, but mostly in the Old World tropics.
They are commonly called
silk trees or
sirises. Peculiarly, the obsolete form of spelling the
scientific name - with double 'z' - has stuck, so that another commonly used term is
albizzias (though the form
albizias is also found, particularly in species that are not widely known under a common name). The
scientific name refers to the
Italian nobleman Filippo degli
Albizzi, who in the mid-
18th century introduced siris to
Europe.
These are usually small trees or shrubs with a short lifespan - though the famous
Samán del Guère near
Maracay in
Venezuela is a huge
Albizia saman specimen and several hundred years old. The
leaves are pinnately or bipinnately compound. Their small
flowers are in bundles, with showy stamens much longer than the petals. Some species are considered
weeds.
Persian Silk Tree or Pink Siris (
Albizia julibrissin) extends well north into temperate regions in
East Asia and is by far the cold-hardiest species. It tolerates temperatures down to about -22°F (-30°C), provided it gets adequate summer heat to ripen the shoots. In
North America, where it's commonly grown as an
ornamental tree, it's often confusingly called "mimosa", a name which correctly belongs to species in the related genus
Mimosa. In several
US States,
A. julibrissin has become naturalized and is regarded as an
invasive species.
Albizia species are used as food plants by the
larvae of some
moths of the genus
Endoclita inclulding
E. damor,
E. malabaricus and
E. sericeus.
Image:Albizialebbeck1.jpg|Albizia lebbeck (habit)
Image:Albizia lebbeck.jpg|Albizia lebbeck (leaves and fruit)
Taxonomy
Numerous species placed in
Albizia by early authors were eventually moved to other genera, most notably
Archidendron. Other genera of
Ingeae (
Abarema,
Archidendropsis,
Balizia,
Blanchetiodendron,
Calliandra,
Cathormion,
Enterolobium,
Havardia,
Hesperalbizia,
Hydrochorea,
Pararchidendron,
Paraserianthes,
Pseudosamanea and
Serianthes) have also received their share of supposed
Albizia species, as have the
Mimoseae Newtonia and
Schleinitzia, and
Acacia from the
Acacieae. Some presumed "silk trees" are in fact misidentified members of the not very closely related
Erythrophleum from the
Caesalpinioideae and the
Faboideae Lebeckia.
The delimitation of
Falcataria and
Pithecellobium, close relatives of
Albizia, is notoriously complex, with species having been moved between the genera time and again, and probably will continue to do so. These include for example
Falcataria moluccana (
Moluccan Albizia, formerly
Albizia moluccana), a common shade tree on
tea plantations. Other closely-related genera like
Chloroleucon and
Samanea are often merged with
Albizia entirely.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Albizia'.
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