Mimosa, Silktree, Mimosa Tree,
Albizia julibrissin

Family: Fabaceae or Leguminosae

What it is like

Bloom Color: Pink. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Early spring, Late summer, Late spring, Mid summer, Mid spring. Form: Spreading or horizontal, Vase.

Albizia julibrissin is a deciduous Tree growing to 12 m (39ft) by 10 m (32ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). It can fix Nitrogen. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Height (m): 12

Where it is found

Open sunny ravines, forests and by rivers up to 2100 metres in the Himalayas.

W. Asia and E. Asia - Iran to China.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Young leaves - cooked. An aromatic flavour, they are used as a potherb. Flowers - cooked. Eaten as a vegetable. The dried leaves are a tea substitute.

Gum: can be chewed as a chewing gum or can often be used as a sweetener or thickening agent in foods.

Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The flower heads are carminative, digestive, sedative and tonic. They are used internally in the treatment of insomnia, irritability, breathlessness and poor memory. The flowers are harvested as they open and are dried for later use. The stembark is anodyne, anthelmintic, carminative, discutient, diuretic, oxytocic, sedative, stimulant, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary. It is used internally in the treatment of insomnia, irritability, boils and carbuncles. Externally, it is applied to injuries and swellings. The bark is harvested in spring or late summer and is dried for later use. 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.

Analgesic: Relieves pain.

Anthelmintic: Expels parasites from the gut.

Carminative: Reduces flatulence and expels gas from the intestines.

Digestive: Aids digestion.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Oxytoxic: Hastens parturition and stimulates uterine contractions. See also birthing aids.

Plaster: Used in the treatment of broken bones.

Sedative: Gently calms, reducing nervousness, distress and irritation.

Stimulant: Excites or quickens activity of the physiological processes. Faster acting than a tonic but differing from a narcotic in that it does not give a false sense of well-being.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Vulnerary: Promotes the healing of wounds.

Other

Rating: 2

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

Fodder: Food given to the animals (including plants cut and carried to them) rather than forage for themselves.

Gum: Gums have a wide range of uses, especially as stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents, adhesives etc.

Plaster: Used for covering walls.

Agroforestry Services: Alley crop: Integrates annual crops with rows of perennials.

Agroforestry Services: Contour hedgerow: Alley cropping systems on the contour of slopes.

Agroforestry Services: Crop shade: Plants providing crop shade especially trees.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Fodder: Insect: Plants grown for useful fodder insects.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Agroforestry Services: Alley crop: Integrates annual crops with rows of perennials.

Agroforestry Services: Contour hedgerow: Alley cropping systems on the contour of slopes.

Agroforestry Services: Crop shade: Plants providing crop shade especially trees.

Agroforestry Services: Nitrogen: Plants that contribute to nitrogen fixation include the legume family – Fabaceae.

Fodder: Bank: Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants.

Fodder: Insect: Plants grown for useful fodder insects.

Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels

Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.

Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.

Regional Crop: These crops have been domesticated and cultivated regionally but have not been adopted elsewhere and are typically not traded globally, Examples in this broad category include perennial cottons and many nuts and staple fruits.

Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.

Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil

How it is grown

Requires a well-drained moisture retentive soil and a very sunny position. Succeeds in dry soils. Highly fertile soils can promote soft sappy growth which is frost tender. Trees tolerate a high pH, saline soils, high winds and drought. They also succeed in poor soils. Trees prefer a more continental climate than Britain and when dormant are hardy to about -20°c in such a zone. They are only hardy to about -10°c in the maritime climate of this country. 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. They succeed on a sunny wall at Kew, and also in a more open but sunny sheltered position there, but only really succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of Britain. If killed back to the ground by a severe winter, plants can often resprout from the base. The form 'Rosea' is hardier and more compact, succeeding even in the drier parts of Britain if given some protection. 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. Often grown as a summer bedding plant. Quite tolerant of being transplanted. Plants often produce suckers. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. 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. Special Features:Attracts birds, Attractive foliage, Not North American native, Invasive, Fragrant flowers, Blooms are very showy.

Propagating it: 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. Germinates in 2 - 3 months at 19°c. Scarification helps. There are about 11,000 seeds to a pound, about 25 - 33% of which germinate. 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. Root cuttings, late winter in a greenhouse. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Suckers planted out in late winter.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Canopy; Secondary; Sunny Edge; South Wall. By.

Habit: Tree

Hardiness: 6-9

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Dry, moist

Things to keep in mind

This plant can be weedy or invasive in Florida and Tennessee.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Acacia mollis. Acacia julibrissin.