Plants of Australia

Albizia julibrissin - Silk Tree

Albizia julibrissin – Silk Tree

This is an Albizia tree flower with a Florisuga mellivora hummingbird.

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

Albizia julibrissin is known by a wide variety of common names, such as Persian silk tree or pink siris. It is also called Lenkoran acacia or bastard tamarind, though it is not too closely related to either genus. The species is usually called “silk tree” or “mimosa” in the United States, which is misleading – the former name can refer to any species of Albizia which is most common in any one locale. And, although once included in Mimosa, neither is it very close to the Mimoseae. To add to the confusion, several species of Acacia, notably Acacia baileyana and Acacia dealbata, are also known as “mimosa” (especially in floristry), and many Fabaceae trees with highly divided leaves are called thus in horticulture.