Quote[/b] ]NATIVE RANGE: Iran to Japan (according to Hortus 3rd. ed.).
DESCRIPTION: Silk tree, also known as mimosa, or silky acacia, is a small to medium-sized tree in the pea family (Fabaceae) that can grow up to 20-40 feet tall. The bark is light brown, nearly smooth, and generally thin with lens shaped areas along the stem. The attractive fern-like leaves of mimosa are finely divided, 5-8 inches long by about 3-4 inches wide, and alternate along the stems. Silk tree has showy and fragrant pink flowers, about 1½ inches long, that resemble pom-poms and are arranged in panicles at the ends of branches. Fruits are flat, straw-colored pods about 6 inches long containing light brown oval-shaped seeds about ½ inch in length. Pods ripen in August to September and begin to disintegrate soon after, but remain on the trees into winter.
ECOLOGICAL THREAT: Because silk tree can grow in a variety of soils, produce large seed crops, and resprout when damaged, it is a strong competitor to native trees and shrubs in open areas or forest edges. Dense stands of mimosa severely reduce the sunlight and nutrients available for other plants.
DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES: Silk tree is naturalized from New Jersey to Louisiana and in California. Click here to see a distribution map.