Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Albizia stipulata(Roxb.) Boivin

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Chinese albizia, silktree

Samoan: tamaligi, tamaligi ena‘ena, tamaligi uliuli

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees up to 20 m tall.  Leaves with 4-14 pairs of pinnae, leaflets 20-30 pairs per pinna, asymmetrical with the midrib strongly eccentric near one of the margins, 6-10 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, apex acute, with a nectary on the rachis just below each pair of pinnae, stipules up to 1.5 cm long and 3 cm wide.  Flowers 8-12 mm long (central one larger), in heads 20-25 mm in diameter (excluding stamens), these usually in wide terminal panicles, sometimes reduced to 3-4 peduncles clustered in the leaf axils; corolla white; stamens up to 30 mm long. Pods flat, 10-17 cm long, 1.7-3.5 cm wide, indehiscent.  Seeds ellipsoid, laterally flattened, ca. 7 mm long and 4-5 in diameter, distinctly median (remote from sutures), with a small basal pleurogram ca. 1 mm in diameter"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 644).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "documented only from low elevation, disturbed areas" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 644).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Tropical southeastern Asia.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 491055) Taxon name on voucher: Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 493040) Taxon name on voucher: Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral (1998) (p. 3) Voucher cited: Herbst 9794 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 644)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 77) Vouchers cited: MacKee 11925, MacKee 17641
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1967) (voucher ID: BISH 664582) Taxon name on voucher: Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 5)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 5)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1972) (voucher ID: BISH 83903) Taxon name on voucher: Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1973) (voucher ID: BISH 417726) Taxon name on voucher: Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1974) (voucher ID: BISH 418201) Taxon name on voucher: Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2008)
French Territory of Mayotte Mayotte Islands	Mayotte Island	introduced invasive	Vos, P. (2004) (p. 7)

Comments:  A major invasive species in Samoa (Space & Flynn, 2002).

Additional information:
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Albizia chinensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Albizia chinensis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Albizia chinensis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Albizia stipulata(Roxb.) Boivin

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1967. Voucher specimen #BISH 664582 (MacKee, H.S. 17641).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1972. Voucher specimen #BISH 83903 (Whistler, W.A. W 230).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1973. Voucher specimen #BISH 417726 (Whistler, W.A. W 661).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1974. Voucher specimen #BISH 418201 (Whistler, W.A. W 1598).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 491055 (Florence, J. 3970).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 493040 (Florence, J. 2299).

Herbst, Derral. 1998. New records for Hawaiian plants. I. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1997. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 56:2-4.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2008. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of Samoa on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 83 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2008. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vos, P. 2004. Case studies on the status of invasive woody plant species in the western Indian Ocean. 2. The Comoros Archipelago (Union of the Comoros and Mayotte). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Forestry Department, Forest Resources Division, Forest Resources Development Service, Working Paper FBS/4-2E. 34 pp.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Whistler, W. A. 1984. Annotated list of Samoan plant names. Economic Botany 38:464.489.