genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of more than 160
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of mostly fast-growing
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
and
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s and
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
s in the subfamily
Mimosoideae
The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petal ...
of the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Fabaceae. The genus is
pantropical
A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''.
''Neotropical' ...
, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and Australia, but mostly in the
Old World
The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...
tropics. In some locations, some species are considered
weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
s.
They are commonly called silk plants, silk trees, or sirises. The obsolete spelling of the generic name – with double 'z' – is still common, so the plants may be called albizzias. The generic name honors the Italian nobleman Filippo degli Albizzi, who introduced ''
Albizia julibrissin
''Albizia julibrissin'', the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the Fabaceae family, native to Western Asia, southwestern and East Asia, eastern Asia.
Taxonomy
It was introduced to Europe in the mid-18th ...
'' to Europe in the mid-18th century. Some species are commonly called mimosa, which more accurately refers to plants of genus ''
Mimosa
''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 600 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. Species are native to the Americas, from North Dakota to northern Argentina, and to eastern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, and ...
''. Species from southeast Asia used for timber are sometime termed East Indian walnut.
Description
They are usually small trees or shrubs with a short lifespan, though the famous ''Samán del Guère'' near
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 Girardot Municipality. The population of Maracay and its ...
in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
is a huge ''
Albizia saman
''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing Subtropics, subtropical and Tropics, tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family (biology), family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in ...
'' specimen several hundred years old. The
leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are
pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...
ly or bipinnately compound. The small
flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s are in bundles, with
stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s much longer than the
petal
Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s. The stamens are usually showy, although in some species such as '' A. canescens'' the flowers are inconspicuous.
Unlike those of ''Mimosa'', ''Albizia'' flowers have many more than 10 stamens. ''Albizia'' can also be told apart from another large related genus, ''
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
'', by its stamens, which are joined at the bases instead of separate.
Taxonomy
Numerous species placed in ''Albizia'' by early authors were eventually moved to other genera, most notably ''
Archidendron
''Archidendron'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Mimosa subfamily (Mimosoideae) of the pea family, Fabaceae. It includes 98 species which range from India through Indochina, southern China, Taiwan, Malesia, and Papuasia to Queensland and Ne ...
''. Other genera of
Ingeae
The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petal ...
(''
Abarema
''Abarema'' is a neotropical genus in the family (biology), family Fabaceae. It is native to Brazil and Venezuela. Most of the species can be found in the Amazon Basin and the Guyana Highlands. They have a deep-green fernlike Leaf, foliage, with ...
'', ''
Archidendropsis
''Archidendropsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 11 species, which are native to Australia, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia.Blanchetiodendron'', ''
Calliandra
''Calliandra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It contains about 140 species that are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas.
Description
...
'', ''
Cathormion
''Cathormion'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains a single species, ''Cathormion umbellatum'', a shrub or tree which ranges from India to Indochina, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, New Gu ...
'', ''
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. They are medium-sized to large trees.Germplasm Resources Information Network''Enterolobium''Inter ...
'', ''
Havardia
''Havardia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. It includes five species of trees native to the Americas, ranging from Texas and northern Mexico through Cent ...
'', ''
Hesperalbizia
''Hesperalbizia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae
Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or ...
'', ''
Hydrochorea
''Hydrochorea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 11 species native to Central and South America and west and west-central Africa. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae.
* ''Hydrochor ...
Paraserianthes
''Paraserianthes lophantha'' (syn. ''Albizia lophantha''), the Cape Leeuwin wattle, Bicol wattle, Cape wattle, Crested wattle, Brush wattle or plume albizia, is a fast-growing tree with creamy-yellow, bottlebrush like flowers. It is the sole spec ...
Serianthes
''Serianthes'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes 17 species of trees and shrubs which range from Thailand and Malesia to Papuasia and the South Pacific. New Caledonia has the greatest diversity of species, wit ...
'') have also received their share of former ''Albizia'' species, as have the Mimoseae '' Newtonia'' and ''
Schleinitzia
''Schleinitzia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes four species of trees and shrubs native to the Philippines, New Guinea, and the South Pacific. Typical habitats include tropical secondary rain forest, woodland, ...
''. Some presumed "silk trees" are in fact misidentified members of the not very closely related genus ''
Erythrophleum
''Erythrophleum'' is a genus of legume in the family Fabaceae. It includes ten species native to sub-Saharan Africa, Indochina, southern China, and northern Australia.
Species
''Plants of the World Online'' includes:
# ''Erythrophleum africanum' ...
'' from the
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''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae a ...
and ''
Lebeckia
''Lebeckia'' is a genus of plants in the family Fabaceae native to the fynbos (Cape Floristic Kingdom) of South Africa. Several members of ''Lebeckia'' were recently transferred to other genera (''Calobota'' and ''Wiborgiella''). Members of ''Leb ...
'' from the
Faboideae
The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family.
This subfamily is widely ...
.
The delimitation of ''
Falcataria
''Falcataria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the monophyletic Mimosoid clade in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The genus has three species previously classified in the ''Falcataria'' section of the genus ' ...
'' and ''
Pithecellobium
''Pithecellobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes approximately 23 species from the tropical Americas, ranging from Mexico to Peru and northern Brazil, including the Caribbean Islands and Florida.
The generic ...
'', close relatives of ''Albizia'', is notoriously complex, with species having been moved between the genera time and again, and this will likely continue. These include ''
Falcataria falcata
''Falcataria falcata'' (syns. Albizia falcata, Falcataria moluccana and Paraserianthes falcataria), commonly known as the Moluccan albizia, is a species of fast-growing tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, ...
'' (the Moluccan albizia, formerly named ''Albizia moluccana''), a common shade tree on
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
plantations. Other closely related genera like ''
Chloroleucon
''Chloroleucon'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains 11 species native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and South America to northern Argentina. Some authorities ...
'' and ''
Samanea
''Samanea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes four species of trees native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Belize to Paraguay, and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. Habitats include ...
'' are often merged with ''Albizia'' entirely.
Uses
Albizias are important
forage
Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
,
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
, and
medicinal plants
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...
, and many are cultivated as
ornamentals
Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
for their attractive flowers – notably ''
Albizia julibrissin
''Albizia julibrissin'', the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the Fabaceae family, native to Western Asia, southwestern and East Asia, eastern Asia.
Taxonomy
It was introduced to Europe in the mid-18th ...
''.
Some species are used as food plants by the
larvae
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...
of
moth
Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
s in the genus ''
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
*'' Endoclita aboe'' – India
*'' Endoclita absurdus'' – China
*'' Endoclita ...