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Albizia julibrissin

Albizia julibrissin: Plant
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Albizia julibrissin: Flowers
Photo by Ken Fern. High resolution version

Common name:	Mimosa	Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	Durazz.	Botanical references:	11, 51, 200
Synonyms:	Acacia julibrissin ((Durazz.)Willd.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	W. Asia and E. Asia - Iran to China.
Habitat:	Open sunny ravines, forests and by rivers up to 2100 metres in the Himalayas[51, 158].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. julibrissin var. julibrissin[G] Acacia nemu[H] Mimosa arborea[G,H] Mimosa julibrissin[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ho Huan [E], Ho Hun [E], Mimosa [H,DEN1], Nemu-No-Ki [E], Silk Tree [H], Silktree [P,B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 12m by 10m . It is hardy to zone 7 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy, Secondary, Sunny Edge, By Walls, By South Wall.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves Tea.

Young leaves - cooked. An aromatic flavour[2, 106, 178, 179], they are used as a potherb[183].
Flowers - cooked. Eaten as a vegetable[183].
The dried leaves are a tea substitute[177, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Anthelmintic Carminative Digestive Diuretic Oxytoxic Plaster Sedative Stimulant Tonic Vulnerary.

The flower heads are carminative, digestive, sedative and tonic[176, 218, 238]. They are used internally in the treatment of insomnia, irritability, breathlessness and poor memory[176, 238]. The flowers are harvested as they open and are dried for later use[238].
The stembark is anodyne, anthelmintic, carminative, discutient, diuretic, oxytocic, sedative, stimulant, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary[176, 178, 218]. It is used internally in the treatment of insomnia, irritability, boils and carbuncles[238]. Externally, it is applied to injuries and swellings[238]. The bark is harvested in spring or late summer and is dried for later use[238].
A gummy extract obtained from the plant is used as a plaster for abscesses, boils etc and also as a retentive in fractures and sprains[218].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Gum Plaster.

A gummy extract of the plant is used as a plaster[178]. No more details are given.
Wood - dense, hard, strong, takes a good polish. Used for furniture, industrial applications, firewood etc[74, 158, 272].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained moisture retentive soil and a very sunny position[200]. Succeeds in dry soils. Highly fertile soils can promote soft sappy growth which is frost tender[200]. Trees tolerate a high pH, saline soils, high winds and drought[200, 238]. They also succeed in poor soils[238].
Trees prefer a more continental climate than Britain[11] and when dormant are hardy to about -20° c in such a zone[200]. They are only hardy to about -10° c in the maritime climate of this country[200]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. They succeed on a sunny wall at Kew[11], and also in a more open but sunny sheltered position there[K], but only really succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of Britain[1]. If killed back to the ground by a severe winter, plants can often resprout from the base[200]. The form 'Rosea' is hardier and more compact, succeeding even in the drier parts of Britain if given some protection[11].
Plants are quite tolerant of pruning and can be fan-trained for growing on a wall. Any pruning is best done in late winter or early spring[202].
Often grown as a summer bedding plant[1].
Quite tolerant of being transplanted[200]. Plants often produce suckers[200].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak 24 hours in hot water and sow March/April in a greenhouse or sow as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[113]. Germinates in 2 - 3 months at 19° c. Scarification helps[133]. There are about 11,000 seeds to a pound, about 25 - 33% of which germinate[227]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of fairly rich soil when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter or two outdoors[K].
Root cuttings, late winter in a greenhouse[113, 200].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[200].
Suckers planted out in late winter[200].

Cultivars

'Rosea': A hardier and more compact form of the species, it succeeds in the drier parts of the country if given some protection[11].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Albizia julibrissin var. julibrissin (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[133] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan. 1987
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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