Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth.

Authors

Rupert C. Barneby

Authority

Barneby, Rupert C. & Grimes, James W. 1996. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part I. Abarema, Albizia, and allies. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 74: 1-292.

Family

Mimosaceae

Scientific Name

Albizia procera (Roxb.) Benth.

Type

". . . native of the mountainous parts of the [Coromandel] coast [Madras, SE peninsular India]." — Holotypus (Nielsen, 1985: 38): Roxburgh, 1798, pl. 121, supra cit.

Synonyms

Mimosa procera Roxb., Acacia procera (Roxb.) Willd.

Description

Species Description - Amply plurifoliolate trees of rapid growth and early maturity, flowering when 2-4 m but attaining 25 m with smooth gray trunk 3-6 (in old age reportedly to 20) dm dbh, appearing glabrous and the calyces and pods in fact always so but the lf-axes, lft- pulvinules, and one or both faces of the conspicuously bicolored lfts commonly strigulose with fine whitish hairs <0.35 mm, the inflorescence composed of efoliate pseudoracemes of small fasciculate capitula axillary to uppermost lvs and an efoliate terminal panicle, this not or only shortly exserted from foliage. Stipules 0. Lf-formula (ii—)iii—vi/(7—)8—12(—13); lf- stks (9)10-28(36) cm, the petiole including livid pulvinus (5.5—)7—13 cm, the narrow shallow ventral groove continuous between pinna-pairs; nectary below midpetiole sessile, shallowly patelliform or almost plane, in outline elliptic or linear-elliptic 3.5-9 mm in long diameter, no nectary elsewhere on lf-stk, but small ones on rachis of some pinnae close below 1-3 furthest lft-pairs; pinnae ordinarily decrescent at each end of lf-stk, the rachis of longer ones 11-22 cm, the longer interfoliolar segments 11-22 (-26) mm; pulvinus of lfts (1.2—)1.5—2.7(—3) mm, discolored or not but not deeply wrinkled; lfts decrescent at each end of rachis, otherwise subequilong, in outline ovate-, oblong-, or obovate-elliptic from inequilaterally cuneate or flabellate base, at apex obtuse, deltately subacute, or shallowly emarginate, minutely callous-apiculate, those near midrachis (21-)25-50 x (10-) 11-22 mm; venation pinnate, the straight midrib subcentric at and beyond midblade, giving rise on each side to 5-9 major (and random intercalary) secondary nerves brochidodrome shortly within the very narrowly revolute margin, the tertiary venulation often immersed, scarcely prominulous when raised, the midrib and secondary nerves usually pallidly discolored on ventral face of blade, the color contrasting with the dull dark green intervenium. Primary axis of pseudoracemes or panicle 7—22 cm, the capitula mostly fasciculate by 2-5(—6, randomly solitary), the longest peduncle of each fascicle 7-19 mm; bracts membranous 0.5—1.2 mm, caducous from beneath the immature fl-buds, one bract at base of capitulum sometimes a little larger; capitula 12-23- fld, the flowers radiately spreading in a subglobose cluster, the globose or pyriform receptacle 1-2 mm; fls homomorphic, sessile, 5-merous, the calyx glabrous, the corolla-lobes usually pallid-strigulose overall or only at the tip; calyx membranous, greenish, veinless, deeply campanulate 2.6-3.3 x 1.1-1.4 mm, the sometimes unequal teeth 0.2-0.6 mm, the whole becoming dry and often circumscissile at base; corolla ochroleucous 5.5-6.7 mm, the ascending lobes 1.2-2.2 mm; androecium 30-40-merous, 9-11 mm, the stemonozone 1.1-1.5 mm, the tube 4.5-5.7 mm, a trifle shorter than the corolla, the free filaments whitish; ovary in profile narrowly elliptic ±1 mm, contracted into a stipe ±0.2 mm, glabrous; style filiform, scarcely thickened at apex, the stigma pori- form. Pods 1-3 per capitulum, in profile broad-linear 12-18 x 1.8-2.5 cm, contracted at base into stout stipe 1-4 mm, shortly tapering or abruptly obtuse at apex, piano-compressed, the stiffly papery, reddish brown, smooth glabrous valves framed by straight sutures, low-convex and fuscous over the seeds; dehiscence tardy, through the ventral suture, the valves narrowly gaping to release the seeds; funicles filiform, straight; seeds transverse, well spaced along the continuous cavity, compressed-ellipsoid, in broad profile ±6-7 x 4.5-5 mm, the brittle testa ±0.1 mm thick, externally dull brown, the pleurogram at middle of broad faces U-shaped 4.5-5 x 2.5-3 mm; endosperm present.

Distribution and Ecology - In monsoon woodland, 1-1200 m, surviving disturbance in hedges and pastures, widespread in SE Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, S China, Taiwan), the Philippines, New Guinea, N Australia (Queensland), introduced at experiment stations and in botanical gardens of the neotropics as a shade tree and source of fuel, feebly spontaneous in hedges and disturbed places, fairly frequent on Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola, to be expected in the Lesser Antilles; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. — Fl. following rains, the frs. long persistent, sometimes shed with the inflorescence-axis and dehiscent on the ground.

Local Names and Uses - White siris.

Common Names

White siris

Distribution

India Asia| Sri Lanka Philippines Asia| Cuba South America| Jamaica South America| Puerto Rico South America| Rio de Janeiro Brazil South America|