Albizia is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of about 150 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of mostly fast-growing subtropical

Subtropics

The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...

 and tropical

Tropics

The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

 tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s and shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s in the subfamily Mimosoideae

Mimosoideae

Mimosoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae characterized by flowers with small petals and numerous prominent stamens...

 of the legume family, Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

. The genus is pantropical

Pantropical

In biogeography, a pantropical distribution one which covers tropical regions of all of the major continents, i.e. in Africa, in Asia and in the Americas. Examples include the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa....

, occurring in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

, Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, South

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and southern North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, but mostly in the Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

 tropics. Some species are considered weed

Weed

A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...

y.

They are commonly called silk plant or sirises. Peculiarly, the obsolete form of spelling the generic 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 generic name refers to the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 nobleman Filippo degli Albizzi, who in the mid-18th century introduced siris to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

These are usually small trees or shrubs with a short lifespan - though the famous Samán del Guère near Maracay

Maracay

Maracay is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of the Girardot Municipality. The population as per the 2001 census was 750,000...

 in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 is a huge Albizia saman specimen and several hundred years old. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are pinnate

Pinnate

Pinnate is a term used to describe feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis in plant or animal structures, and comes from the Latin word pinna meaning "feather", "wing", or "fin". A similar term is pectinate, which refers to a comb-like arrangement of parts...

ly or bipinnately compound. Their small flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are in bundles, with showy stamen

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s much longer than the petal

Petal

Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...

s. Confusingly, some species are given the name "mimosa" which correctly belongs to species in the related genus Mimosa

Mimosa

Mimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μιμος , meaning "mimic."...

. Unlike those of Mimosa, Albizia flowers have much more than 10 stamens. Albizia can also be told apart from another large related genus, Acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

, since its flowers have their stamens joined at the base whereas in Acacia stamens are free (separated).

Persian Silk Tree or Pink Siris (Albizia julibrissin

Albizia julibrissin

Albizia julibrissin is a species of legume in the genus Albizia, native to southwestern and eastern Asia, from Persia east to China and Korea...

) extends well north into temperate

Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...

 regions in East Asia

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

 and is by far the cold-hardiest species. It tolerates temperatures down to about -30 C, provided it gets adequate summer heat to ripen the shoots. In North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 it is commonly grown as an ornamental tree

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

, but has become naturalized

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 in several US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 states, and is regarded as an invasive species

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

.

Albizia species are used as food plants by the larvae

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

 of some moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

s of the genus Endoclita

Endoclita

Endoclita is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 60 described species found in eastern and southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.- Species :*E. aboe - India*E. absurdus - China*E. actinidae - China...

inclulding E. damor, E. malabaricus and E. sericeus.

Taxonomy

Numerous species placed in Albizia by early authors were eventually moved to other genera, most notably Archidendron

Archidendron

Archidendron is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae.-Selected species:* Archidendron bigeminum* Archidendron forbesii* Archidendron grandiflorum – Pink Laceflower* Archidendron lovelliae – Tulip Wood...

. Other genera of Ingeae (Abarema

Abarema

Abarema is a neotropical genus of large trees in the legume family . They grow from Mexico to Bolivia. Most of the species can be found in the Amazon Basin and the Guyana Highlands. They have a deep-green fernlike foliage, with bipinnately compound leaves...

, Archidendropsis

Archidendropsis

Archidendropsis is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae.-Selected species:* Archidendropsis glandulosa* Archidendropsis lentiscifolia* Archidendropsis paivana* Archidendropsis thozetiana...

, Balizia

Balizia

Balizia is a town and sub-prefecture in the Macenta Prefecture in the Nzérékoré Region of south-eastern Guinea.-References:...

, Blanchetiodendron

Blanchetiodendron

Blanchetiodendron is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Mimosoideae....

, Calliandra

Calliandra

Calliandra is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Mimosoideae. It contains about 200 species that are native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas.-Biological description:...

, Cathormion

Cathormion

Cathormion is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Mimosoideae....

, Enterolobium

Enterolobium

Enterolobium is a genus of 12 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to tropical and warm-temperate regions of the Americas...

, Havardia

Havardia

Havardia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae.- Species :* Havardia albicans Britton & Rose* Havardia campylacanthus Barneby & J.W.Grimes...

, Hesperalbizia

Hesperalbizia

Hesperalbizia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae....

, Hydrochorea

Hydrochorea

Hydrochorea is a legume genus in the subfamily Mimosoideae. It contains a mere 3 species at present:* Hydrochorea corymbosa Barneby & J.W.Grimes* Hydrochorea gonggrijpii Barneby & J.W.Grimes...

, Pararchidendron

Pararchidendron

Pararchidendron is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Mimosoideae....

, Paraserianthes

Paraserianthes

Paraserianthes is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Mimosoideae....

, Pseudosamanea and Serianthes

Serianthes

Serianthes is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae.-Selected species:* Serianthes calycina* Serianthes margaretae* Serianthes myriadenia* Serianthes nelsonii* Serianthes petitiana* Serianthes rurutensis...

) have also received their share of supposed Albizia species, as have the Mimoseae

Mimoseae

Mimoseae is a tribe of leguminous plants in the subfamily Mimosoideae. Where this is treated as a family of its own , the Mimoseae become the subfamily Mimosoideae....

 Newtonia

Newtonia (plant)

Newtonia is a genus of legumes.Species are:* Newtonia aubrevillei Keay* Newtonia buchananii G.C.C.Gilbert & Boutique* Newtonia camerunensis - might belong in Entada* Newtonia duparquetiana Keay...

and Schleinitzia

Schleinitzia

Schleinitzia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae....

, and Acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

from the Acacieae. Some presumed "silk trees" are in fact misidentified members of the not very closely related Erythrophleum

Erythrophleum

Erythrophleum is a genus of legume in the Fabaceae family.A partial list of species includes:* Erythrophleum chlorostachys* Erythrophleum fordii* Erythrophleum guineense* Erythrophleum judiciale...

from the Caesalpinioideae

Caesalpinioideae

Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name Caesalpinia....

 and the Faboideae

Faboideae

Faboideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. One acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae....

 Lebeckia

Lebeckia

Lebeckia is a genus of legume in the Fabaceae family.It contains the following species:* Lebeckia brevicarpa* Lebeckia brevipes* Lebeckia candolleana* Lebeckia contaminata* Lebeckia dinteri* Lebeckia pauciflora...

.

The delimitation of Falcataria

Falcataria

Falcataria is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Mimosoideae....

and Pithecellobium

Pithecellobium

Pithecellobium is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek words πιθηκος , meaning "ape" or "monkey," and ελλοβιον , meaning "earring," which refers to the coiled shape of the seedpods.Delimitation to the closely related Albizia is a matter...

, 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

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 plantations. Other closely related genera like Chloroleucon

Chloroleucon

Chloroleucon is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. Some authorities consider it part of the genus Albizia. The generic name is derived from the Greek words χλωρóς , meaning "green," and λευκός , meaning "white."-Selected species:* Chloroleucon chacoense Burk.) Barneby &...

and Samanea

Samanea

Samanea is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Mimosoideae....

are often merged with Albizia entirely.

Invasive Species

Molucca albizia (Falcataria moluccana) and Chinese albizia (Albizia chinensis) are considered invasive species in Hawaii and on many Pacific Islands. The tree grows very rapidly and can quickly colonize disturbed areas in wet environments. The tree is prone to shedding large branches, which have been responsible for damaging power lines, houses, and other infrastructure in Hawaii.

External links

• Albizia procera (www.frienvis.nic.in)