Family: Fabaceae
Albizia julibrissin (mimosa tree, Persian silk tree, or pink silk tree), is a fast-growing deciduous tree with pink, pom-pom-like flowers native to southwestern and eastern Asia. They are popular ornamental trees due to their flowers and fern-like leaves and can grow 20 to 40 feet tall and wide at maturity.
Albizia julibrissin has become naturalized and invasive in many parts of the United States where it can crowd out native plants and disrupt ecosystems. Traits which contribute to its invasiveness include its ability to grow quickly and produce large quantities of seeds, which can easily spread by wind or water. These trees can also tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, can survive in disturbed areas, and if cut or damaged, can resprout from their roots, making them difficult to control. To date, it has not been reported as naturalized or invasive in the Hawaiian Islands.
High Risk Traits:
- Broad elevation range and climate suitability (temperate to tropical)
- Grows and able to spread in regions with tropical climates
- Widely naturalized (but not in the Hawaiian Islands to date)
- An environmental weed that can form dense stands which reduce light levels and nutrients and prevent the establishment of native plants
- Other Albizia species have become invasive
- Hose of tree pests and pathogens
- Tolerates many soil types
- Forms dense stands
- Reproduces by seeds and root suckers
- Can hybridize with other Albizia species
- Rapid growth rate
- Seeds dispersed by wind, water, as a soil contaminant, and through intentional cultivation
- Prolific seed production
- May form a long-lived seed bank (5 years)
- Able to resprout after cutting or damage, making control difficult without herbicides
Low Risk Traits:
- Unarmed (no spines, thorns or burrs)
- Palatable to browsing animals
- Not reported to be toxic or poisonous
- Grows best in full sun (dense shade may inhibit spread)
- Reported to be self-incompatible (unable to self-seed)
- Herbicides may provide effective control
