{"slug":"albizia-julibrissin","scientific_name":"Albizia julibrissin","common_names":["Mimosa","Silk tree","Persian silk tree","Silky acacia"],"family":"Fabaceae","type":"broadleaf_deciduous","mature_height_m":9,"mature_spread_m":10,"growth_rate":"fast","lifespan_years":30,"hardiness_zones":[6,9],"sun":"full_partial","water":"low","soil":"Almost any soil, including poor and alkaline; tolerates drought","native_range":"Southwestern and eastern Asia from Iran to Japan; introduced to the US in 1745 and naturalized across the Southeast","description":"A flat-topped, umbrella-shaped small tree (20-40 feet) with ferny leaves and fluffy pink powder-puff flowers in early summer that hummingbirds visit. It grows fast, lives only about 30 years, drops flowers, leaves and bean pods constantly, breaks in storms, and seeds itself along roadsides, creek banks and fence lines where it shades out native plants. Mimosa wilt usually kills it young.","care":"Not recommended. If planted, expect heavy litter, brittle wood and a lethal, untreatable fusarium wilt; seeds are toxic to dogs and livestock. Remove by cutting and treating the stump, since it resprouts vigorously, and pull seedlings for several years. Desert willow gives a similar airy look with pink summer flowers and is native.","benefits":["flowers","pollinators","drought_tolerant","fast_canopy"],"uses":[],"cautions":["invasive_elsewhere","weak_wood","heavy_litter","toxic_parts","pest_prone","short_lived"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/2018-07-08_11_10_27_Rosea_Mimosa_blossoms_along_the_ramp_from_southbound_Interstate_95_%28New_Jersey_Turnpike_Eastern_Spur%29_to_westbound_Interstate_280_%28Essex_Freeway%29_in_the_New_Jersey_Meadowlands%2C_within_Kearny%2C_Hudson_County%2C_New_Jersey.jpg","image_credit":"Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","sources":["https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/ALJU","https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=ALJU","https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/albizia-julibrissin/"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/albizia-julibrissin","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/albizia-julibrissin.md","regions":[{"country":"IR","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Native from Iran east to Japan","source_url":null},{"country":"US","region":"CA","locality":"Los Angeles","status":"recommended","note":"On the City Plants (Los Angeles) Street Tree Species List","source_url":"https://www.cityplants.org/street-tree-species-list/"},{"country":"US","region":"TX","locality":"Dallas","status":"recommended","note":"On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List","source_url":"https://dallas.gov/departments/sustainabledevelopment/buildinginspection/DCH%20documents/pdf/BI_Approved%20Tree%20List.pdf"},{"country":"US","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Texas Invasives reports it present in 27 states from California to West Virginia","source_url":"https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=ALJU"},{"country":"US","region":"NC","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Listed as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council (per NC State Extension Plant Toolbox)","source_url":"https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/albizia-julibrissin/"},{"country":"US","region":"TX","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Listed in the Texas Invasives (texasinvasives.org) plant database. Grows along roadsides, vacant lots and riparian areas in Texas, seldom above 3,000 feet. Not on the TDA noxious list.","source_url":"https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=ALJU"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}