Description and Uses
Albizia julibrissin (Pink silk tree) is a
temperate
tree from
Mesopotamia . It is mainly grown for its
ornamental crops
, which have a
short shelf life. The crop is harvested by
pruning. It starts flowering after
6 -
8 years. The yield will be
0.5 kg fresh leafs, but in its top season there will be a yield of
5.0 kg fresh leafs. Other crop types include;
fodder, apiculture, ornamental, fuel, poison herbicide, . The
shoot is used as
inedible . The
seed/nut is used as "
anti-cancer, " with
para-Anisidine (1.90 -
1.98) as its significant
phytochemical. There is
Albizia julibrissin seed oil extracted by
no extraction method from the
tree's
seed/nut yielding
10% -
11% oil. The
tree's wood is called
pink silk wood and has a density of
530 -
550 kg/m³. Regarding firewood production the
tree's growing speed is
fast, it's energetic value is
4100 ckal/kg and the wood's drying speed is
medium. After
12 years the
tree can be totally removed as it reached its commercial and ecological goal.
Albizia julibrissin has a lifespan of
40 years.
Environmental limitations
The tree is
8 meters tall with a crown of
8 meters wide. The
tree prefers a planting distance of
400 cm and a row distance of
400 cm. It is
very fast growing and
intolerant to shade.
Albizia julibrissin has a
shallow root-system and it has symbiotic associations with the
fungi
(endo-mycorrhiza). It is
able to fix nitrogen moderately with
"Microbacteriaceae bacteria. The name(s) or string of bacteria include(s)
"not applicable ". The
tree's flower-morphology is
hermaphroditic and is pollinated by
bees.
Albizia julibrissin is
deciduous in winter and
not allelopathic and has
no thorns.
Albizia julibrissin thrives in an altitude of
700 to
2000 meters above sea-level
(temperate). The minimum temperature is
-9°C; optimally between
20 -
25°C. The optimal rainfall is
1400
mm/year. Without irrigation the annual rainfall should be between
600 -
1600mm (L/m²). The optimal soil-pH is between
6.0 -
9.0 in a soil texture of
sand. To salt it is
tolerant to wind
very tolerant and to fire
a bit tolerant.
Pests and Diseases
Albizia julibrissin is susceptible to the following pests:
. And it's susceptible to the following diseases:
(missing data) ,
,
.
Seed Propagation
Seeds are
orthodox and can be stored for
12 months. There are approximative
12500
seeds/kg. The seeds can be propagated as followed:
- (1) Store harvested seeds dry at room temperature
- (2) Soak the seeds overnight in warm water before sowing.
- (3) press the seeds twice its size in the soil soil.
