3443.000 Albizia Durazz. - False thorns

Trees or shrubs without prickles or spines (except in our area for a very small prickle beneath the node in A. harveyi and some branchlets which may be sharp and spiny at the ends in A. anthelmintica). Leaves 2-pinnate; petiole with a single gland; rhachis eglandular; pinnae opposite or subopposite. Leaflets opposite. Inflorescence of axillary and solitary or fascicled, pedunculate, ± hemispheric "powder-puff" heads (in our area). Flowers bisexual or occasionally male; 1-2 modified central flowers in each head different in form to the others (readily seen here is this image of Albizia adianthifolia). Calyx with 5 teeth or lobes. Corolla gamopetalous with usually 5 lobes. Stamens numerous (19-50) and prominent, with filaments united in a staminal tube. Pod oblong, straight, flat. Seeds usually flat.

Derivation of name: Named after Filippo degli Albizzi, an Italian naturalist.

Worldwide: 118 species in warm Asia, Africa and America.

Malawi: 1 cultivated taxon.