# Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin)

> 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.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/albizia-julibrissin · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Silk tree, Persian silk tree, Silky acacia
- Family: Fabaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, loses its leaves in winter
- Mature height: 9 m; spread 10 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 30 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 9
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Low water
- 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

**Benefits:** Flowers, Pollinators, Drought tolerant, Fast canopy

**Watch out for:** Invasive elsewhere, Weak wood, Heavy litter, Toxic parts, Pest prone, Short lived

## 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.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Iran (Native from Iran east to Japan)
- **Invasive:** United States (Texas Invasives reports it present in 27 states from California to West Virginia); NC, United States (Listed as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council (per NC State Extension Plant Toolbox)); TX, United States (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.)
- **Recommended:** Los Angeles, CA, United States (On the City Plants (Los Angeles) Street Tree Species List); Dallas, TX, United States (On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List)

## 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/