Persian Silk Tree

Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)

Persian Silk Tree🌿

Albizia julibrissin

ネムノキ

Share on X
マメ科WoodyDeciduousSummerPink flowersRiverbed

A deciduous tall tree that produces fluffy pale pink flowers (clusters of stamens) in summer. It is notable for its nyctinastic leaf movement: the leaflets fold together at night, giving it the Japanese name "sleeping tree." Found along riverbeds, in parks, and by roadsides. As a legume, it harbors nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules.

Identification Points

  • Bipinnately compound leaves with leaflets that fold together at night (nyctinasty)
  • Flowers in summer with numerous pink to white thread-like stamens
  • Produces legume pods (long, flat pods)
  • Bark is grayish-brown with horizontally elongated lenticels

Habitat

Riverbeds, roadsides, parks, and open woodlands

Season

June–August (flowers)

Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification

Leaf arrangement

Alternate

Leaf type

Compound

Venation

Pinnate

Leaf margin

Entire

Leaf shape

Ovate

Growth form

Tree

Evergreen/Deciduous

Deciduous

Petal count

5 petals

Petal fusion

Free

Flower color

Pink

Flowering season

Summer

Phylogenetic Positionマメ科

Phylogenetic Position

Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Fabales > Fabaceae

Divergence Era

Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 70–60 million years ago)

Evolution Notes

The legume family performs nitrogen fixation through symbiosis with rhizobia, enabling growth even in nutrient-poor environments.

View on evolution timeline →
View マメ科 page🌿 View in taxonomy
📚野草図鑑(ナツメ社)

Sources & References

📖Wikipedia 日本語版
🤖Claude AI生成(未確認)内容の正確性は未確認。YList・Wikipedia等での点検が必要。

AI-generated, needs verification