Albizia chinensis
(Chinese albizia)

Preferred Scientific Name

• Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr.

Preferred Common Name

• Chinese albizia

Other Scientific Names

• Acacia stipulacea Roxb.
• Acacia stipulata DC.
• Albizia marginata (Lam.) Merr.
• Albizia stipulata (DC.) Boivin
• Inga purpurascens Hassk.
• Mimosa chinensis Osbeck
• Mimosa marginata Lam.
• Mimosa stipulacea Roxb.
• Pithecellobium serronii Glaz.

International Common Names

• English: sau tree; sauce tree; silk tree; siris
• French: albizia de Chine

Local Common Names

• Australia: chocolate heart albizia
• Cambodia: ko: i
• China: ying shu
• India: amulkia; bikumbh; chakua; godhunchi; kali siris; kasir; koroi; motta vagai; nirusil; ohi; pottu vaga; saris; sau; silai vagai; siran; tarli
• Indonesia: jeungjng; sengghung; sengon
• Laos: kha:ng; kha:ng hu
• Madagascar: albizi; bonara vazaha
• Nepal: kalo siris; rato siris
• Philippines: hinagit; kantingen; unik
• Samoa: tamaligi; tamaligi uliuli; tamalini
• Thailand: kaang juang; kham hung cham; saan khan
• Vietnam: soos ng rawsn tafu chu mef

EPPO code

• ALBCH (Albizia chinensis)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Fabales
•                         Family: Fabaceae
•                             Subfamily: Mimosoideae
•                                 Genus: Albizia
•                                     Species: Albizia chinensis

A. chinensis is a mimosoid legume in the Ingeae tribe. A variety is described from India, A. chinensis var. smithiana (Roxb.) K.C. Sahni, S. Chawla & S.S.R. Bennet (Sahni et al., 1977), which is accepted in the Plant List (2013). Further molecular work on the taxonomy of A. chinensis has been undertaken and further clarification of the genetic relationships between closely related species is likely (Aparajita et al., 2008). 

From ICRAF (2014) and PIER (2014):

A. chinensis trees are commonly 20 m tall, sometimes to 30 and exceptionally to 40 m or more, with trunk diameters up to 70 cm, though 140 cm diameter trees are reported. It is sometimes erect when in dense stands, but is generally multistemmed with a flat, spreading crown. The bark is dark grey, quite smooth and thin but densely hooped and lenticellate.

Trees are unarmed, deciduous or evergreen depending on site and climatic conditions. Branchlets are slightly angular in the distal parts, terete, puberulous to tomentose, glabrescent.

Leaves are bipinnate with 4-14(-20) pairs of pinnae and (10-)20-30(-45) pairs of leaflets per pinna, 10-25 cm long. Leaflets are puberulous to tomentose, asymmetrical with the midrib strongly eccentric near one of the margins, 6-10 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, apex sharply acute, base obtuse, oblique, midrib close to the upper margin, sparsely sericeous or glabrous on either side. There are elliptical, raised nectar glands on the rachis just below each pair of pinnae, 2-3 mm x 1-1.5 mm, though glands are sometimes absent, and 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 are usually in wide terminal panicles, sometimes reduced to 3-4 peduncles clustered in the leaf axils. Glomerule composed of 10-20 flowers, flowers pentamerous and dimorphic; the central flower is male, the marginal flowers are bisexual. The calyx is tubular to narrowly funnel-shaped, 2.5-5 mm long, tomentose to hirsute, ending in small triangular teeth, with white funnel-shaped corolla, 6-10 mm long and numerous stamens up to 30 mm long.

The indehiscent pods are a glossy reddish or yellowish-brown, flat and thin, (6-)10-17(-20) cm long and 1.7-3.5 cm wide, often with slightly sinuate margins, each containing 8-12 seeds. Seeds are dark brown, ellipsoid, laterally flattened, 7-10 mm long and 4-6 in diameter, distinctly median (remote from sutures), with a small basal pleurogram about 1 mm in diameter. There are 50,000 seeds/kg.

Soil drainage

• free
• impeded

Soil reaction

• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• infertile
• shallow

A. chinensis has been intentionally introduced internationally as a potentially useful tree for agroforestry, fodder and soil improvement. It is likely that it may be further introduced.

Information is lacking regarding local movement and dispersal. The large seeds and dry pods are not conducive to dispersal by animals, though livestock could possibly browse and ingest the seeds. They could also be spread by flood waters and along coast lines.

A. chinensis is recorded as invasive in Hawaii, Samoa and Mayotte, but there is little information available regarding details of the specific environmental impacts. However, impacts are likely to be similar to those of other invasive Albizia species, in crowding out native species and monopolizing resources.

Speith and Harrison (2012) reported that A. chinensis can form single species stands that shade out all competition, and can alter the structure and composition of native ecosystems, thereby potentially facilitating further invasion by other invasive species. A. chinensis ‘is fast-growing and can displace vegetation preferred by threatened native birds, such as the purple-capped fruit dove (Ptilinopus porphyraceus) and the Pacific imperial pigeon (Ducula pacifica). Young leaves contain saponin and may be toxic to animals’ (Speith and Harrison, 2012).

• Invasive in its native range
• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential
• Has propagules that can remain viable for more than one year
• Reproduces asexually
• Has high genetic variability

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Reduced native biodiversity

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - shading
• Rapid growth

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

A. chinensis wood is lightweight, soft and non-durable, with light to dark brown heartwood and white sapwood. The wood is, however, resistant to termite and other insects attack, and is use in making canoes (Santhakumaranand Rao, 1995), packing-cases, boxes, planking, small turnery articles, and for construction and light furniture, tea chests, veneers. Good quality paper can be produced from A. chinensis pulp with the addition of other long fibred pulp. The wood is a poor fuel. The density of stem and bark is reported by Sagwal and Gupta (1987).

A. chinensis leaves have potential as fodder, as leaves are readily eaten by goats (Ahn et al., 1989). The foliage contains 21-28% crude protein and the chemical content has been assessment (Liu et al., 2009). Where grown for fodder, trees are grown in hedges or in dense stands with spacings of 3 m x 1 m or less. The trees can be harvested for fodder twice a year during the growing season by cutting the stem back to 1 m, and they tolerate frequent pruning (ICRAF, 2014).

A  low quality gum is extracted from the bark, which has been mixed with other gums and used as an extender for sizing paper. The bark contains triterpenes which have spermicidal activity (Rawat et al., 1989). An extract of the wood has can act as a repellent to subterranean termites (ICRAF, 2014).

A. chinensis is widely used in agroforestry systems in Himchal Pradesh, India (Naresh Kumar et al., 2010) and elsewhere in northern India, including as a shade tree in tea (Camellia sinensis) plantations in north-eastern India (Barua and Sarma, 1982; Saini et al., 2003) and in pineapple agroforestry in Bangladesh (Khaleque and Gold, 1993); it is also intercropped in China (ICRAF, 2014). A. chinensis has also been evaluated for agronomy in Australia (Gutteridge, 1990). When grown in tea plantations in India as a shade tree in agroforestry systems, A. chinensis is planted at spacings of between 7 m and 15 m apart. Trees grown for shade are left to grow to 7 m tall and then cut back to 4 m (ICRAF, 2014).

A. chinensis is also planted for slope stabilization, as a fast growing tree legume, and has proved valuable for the reforestation and improvement of degraded land. It is also planted as an ornamental tree in parks, gardens and along roads.

Draft datasheet under review