Albizia

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Albizia
Albizia julibrissin4.jpg
Persian silk tree ( Albizia julibrissin ),
foliage and blossoms
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Albizia
Durazz. (1772)
Diversity
About 150 species
Synonyms [1]
  • Albizzia Benth.
  • ArthrosprionHassk. (1855)
  • BesennaA. Rich. (1848)
  • ParasamaneaKosterm. (1954)
  • ParenterolobiumKosterm. (1954)
  • SassaBruce ex J. F. Gmel. (1792)
  • SerialbizziaKosterm. (1954)
  • SericandraRaf. (1838)
Albizia procera fruits Doon Siris (Albizia procera) pod at Jayanti, Duars, West Bengal W Picture 215.jpg
Albizia procera fruits

Albizia is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and Australia, but mostly in the Old World tropics. In some locations, some species are considered weeds.

Contents

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 to Europe in the mid-18th century. [2] Some species are commonly called mimosa, which more accurately refers to plants of genus Mimosa . 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 in Venezuela is a huge Albizia saman specimen several hundred years old. The leaves are pinnately or bipinnately compound. The small flowers are in bundles, with stamens much longer than the petals. The stamens are usually showy, although in some species such as A. canescens the flowers are inconspicuous. [3]

Unlike those of Mimosa, Albizia flowers have many more than 10 stamens. Albizia can also be told apart from another large related genus, Acacia , by its stamens, which are joined at the bases instead of separate. [4]

Taxonomy

Numerous species placed in Albizia by early authors were eventually moved to other genera, most notably Archidendron . Other genera of Ingeae ( Abarema , Archidendropsis , Blanchetiodendron , Calliandra , Cathormion , Enterolobium , Havardia , Hesperalbizia , Hydrochorea , Pararchidendron , Paraserianthes , Pseudosamanea and Serianthes ) have also received their share of former Albizia species, as have the Mimoseae Newtonia and Schleinitzia . Some presumed "silk trees" are in fact misidentified members of the not very closely related genus Erythrophleum from the Caesalpinioideae and Lebeckia from the Faboideae. [5]

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 this will likely continue. These include Falcataria falcata (the Moluccan albizia, formerly named Albizia moluccana), a common shade tree on tea plantations. Other closely related genera like Chloroleucon and Samanea are often merged with Albizia entirely. [5]

Uses

Albizias are important forage, timber, and medicinal plants, [6] [7] and many are cultivated as ornamentals for their attractive flowers – notably Albizia julibrissin . [8]

Some species are used as food plants by the larvae of moths in the genus Endoclita , including E. damor , E. malabaricus , and E. sericeus .

Invasiveness

Molucca albizia ( Falcataria moluccana (synonyms: Adenanthera falcataria, Albizia falcataria, Paraserianthes falcataria)) is considered an invasive species in Hawaii and on many other Pacific Islands. [9] The tree grows very rapidly and can quickly colonize disturbed areas in wet environments. It tends to shed large branches, damaging power lines, houses, and other infrastructure in Hawaii.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Acacia sensu lato</i> Genus of legumes

Acacia s.l., known commonly as mimosa, acacia, thorntree or wattle, is a polyphyletic genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. It was described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773 based on the African species Acacia nilotica. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not. All species are pod-bearing, with sap and leaves often bearing large amounts of tannins and condensed tannins that historically found use as pharmaceuticals and preservatives.

<i>Mimosa</i> Genus of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae

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 as well as the Indian subcontinent and Indochina. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μῖμος (mimos), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -osa, "resembling", suggesting its 'sensitive leaves' which seem to 'mimic conscious life'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimosoideae</span> Subfamily of legumes

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 petals that are twice divided (valvate) in bud and with numerous showy, prominent stamens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabaceae</span> Family of legume flowering plants

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, are a large and agriculturally important family of flowering plants. It includes trees, shrubs, and perennial or annual herbaceous plants, which are easily recognized by their fruit (legume) and their compound, stipulate leaves. The family is widely distributed, and is the third-largest land plant family in number of species, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with about 765 genera and nearly 20,000 known species.

<i>Albizia julibrissin</i> Species of plant

Albizia julibrissin, the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the Fabaceae family, native to southwestern and eastern Asia.

In botany, the correct name according to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) is the one and only botanical name that is to be used for a particular taxon, when that taxon has a particular circumscription, position and rank. Determining whether a name is correct is a complex procedure. The name must be validly published, a process which is defined in no less than 16 Articles of the ICN. It must also be "legitimate", which imposes some further requirements. If there are two or more legitimate names for the same taxon, then the correct name is the one which has priority, i.e. it was published earliest, although names may be conserved if they have been very widely used. Validly published names other than the correct name are called synonyms. Since taxonomists may disagree as to the circumscription, position or rank of a taxon, there can be more than one correct name for a particular plant. These may also be called synonyms.

<i>Acacia</i> Genus of plants

Acacia, commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about 1,084 species 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 Australasia, but is now reserved for species mainly from Australia, with others from New Guinea, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean. The genus name is Neo-Latin, borrowed from the Greek ἀκακία, a term used in antiquity to describe a preparation extracted from Vachellia nilotica, the original type species.

<i>Samanea saman</i> Species of legume

Samanea saman is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. It is often placed in the genus Samanea, which by yet other authors is subsumed in Albizia entirely.

<i>Metrosideros polymorpha</i> Species of plant

Metrosideros polymorpha, the ʻōhiʻa lehua, is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaiʻi. It is a member of the diverse Metrosideros genus, which are widespread over the southwest Pacific. It is the state tree of Hawai‘i.

<i>Albizia lebbeck</i> Species of legume

Albizia lebbeck is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the Indian subcontinent and Myanmar. It is widely cultivated and naturalised in other tropical and subtropical regions, including Australia. Common names in English include siris, Indian siris, East Indian walnut, Broome raintree, lebbeck, lebbek tree, frywood, koko and woman's tongue tree. The latter name is a play on the sound the seeds make as they rattle inside the pods. Siris is also a common name of the genus Albizia.

<i>Paraserianthes</i> Species of legume

Paraserianthes 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 species in genus Paraserianthes.

<i>Falcataria</i> Genus of legumes

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 Paraserianthes by I.C. Neilsen. The distribution of these closely related species within the genus Falcataria links the wet tropics of north-east Australia to New Guinea, the Moluccas, Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands east of Wallace's line similar to other plant taxa from the region.

<i>Homadaula anisocentra</i> Species of moth

Homadaula anisocentra, also known as the mimosa webworm, is a species of moth in the family Galacticidae. It is considered a pest of ornamental plants. They attack the leaves of mimosa and honeylocust.

<i>Albizia canescens</i> Species of legume

Albizia canescens, commonly known as Belmont siris, is a species of Albizia, endemic to Northern Australia.

<i>Uromycladium</i> Genus of fungi

Uromycladium is a genus of rust fungi in the family Pileolariaceae. It was circumscribed by mycologist Daniel McAlpine in 1905. The genus was established by McAlpine for rusts on Acacia with teliospores that clustered at the top of a pedicel.

<i>Falcataria falcata</i> Species of plant in the family Fabaceae

Falcataria falcata, 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 Bismarck Archipelago, and the Solomon Islands. It is cultivated for timber throughout South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. This tree is considered to be invasive in Hawaii, American Samoa and several other island nations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It reaches about 30 m (100 ft) tall in nature, and has a massive trunk and an open crown.

Uromycladium falcatarium is a species of rust fungus in the genus Uromycladium. It was circumscribed by mycologists Doungsa-ard, McTaggart & Shivasin in 2015.

<i>Pteroma plagiophleps</i> Species of moth

Pteroma plagiophleps is a moth of the family Psychidae first described by George Hampson in 1892. It is found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

References

  1. Albizia Durazz. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. Albizia adianthifolia Credit to South African National Biodiversity Institute.
  3. Lowry, J.B. 2008. Trees for Wood and Animal Production in Northern Australia. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. Indooroopilly, Queensland.
  4. Singh, Gurcharan (2004). Plant Systematics: An Integrated Approach. Science Publishers. p. 445. ISBN   1-57808-351-6.
  5. 1 2 ILDIS (2005)
  6. Lowry, J.B.; Prinsen, J.H. & Burrows, D.M. (1994): 2.5 Albizia lebbeck – a Promising Forage Tree for Semiarid Regions. In:Gutteridge, Ross C. & Shelton, H. Max (eds.): Forage Tree Legumes in Tropical Agriculture. CAB Intemational. HTML fulltext Archived 2007-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Joycharat N, Thammavong S, Limsuwan S, Homlaead S, Voravuthikunchai SP, Yingyongnarongkul BE, Dej-Adisai S, Subhadhirasakul S (2013). "Antibacterial substances from Albizia myriophylla wood against cariogenic Streptococcus mutans". Archives of Pharmacal Research. 36 (6): 723–730. doi:10.1007/s12272-013-0085-7. PMID   23479194. S2CID   11823016.
  8. "Albizia julibrissin". RHS. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  9. Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced)- Molucca albizia - CTAHR UH Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Albizia (Falcataria moluccana) – BIISC Archived 2012-10-30 at the Wayback Machine .