Taxonomy, description, discription, uses

1. ALBIZIA LEBBECK
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INDIAN SIRIS
COLLEGE OF FORESTRY ,
ORISSA UNIVERSITY OF
AGRICULTURE & TECHNOLOGY ,
BHUBANESWAR, ODISHA
SUBMITTED TO ,

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INTRODUCTION
It is currently of most concern in the coastal and subcoastal districts of northern and central
Queensland. This species prefers the wetdry monsoonal climate of northern Australia and it is
particularly aggressive around Townsville and Charters Towers. It grows on hillslopes, in
open woodlands, in vine thickets, and along streambanks in the Townsville region and is
thought to pose an environmental threat to the native vegetation on Castle Hill, within
Townsville City. The nearby Thuringowa City Council considers this species to be an
"undesirable" plant in or near natural areas. Further inland, the Charters Towers City Council
lists Indian siris (Albizia lebbeck) as a high priority species in its pest management plan, and
this weed is said to spread rapidly and restrict the growth of native species in this local
authority area.
VERNACULAR NAMES
Australia acacia; raintree
Cambodia chreh
Caribbean motherinlaw's tongue; rattlepod
Cuba algarrobo de olor
Germany Andamanen Kokko; Lebachbaum
India chinchola; darshana; dirasan, salaunjal;
samkesar sirisha; sarin; sarshio; shirson;
shrin; sirai; sirar; siras; sirin; siris;
sirish;
sirisha; sirissa; sirsa; tantia; tinia; vaga
Indonesia kitoke; tarisi
Italy albizia indiana
Java tekik
Myanmar kokko
Philippines aninapala; langil
Thailand chamchuri; ka se; kampu; khago
Vietnam bo ket tay; lim xanh; tra
TAXONOMIC CLASSIFICATION
Domain Eukaryota
Kingdom Plantae
Phylum Spermatophyta
Subphylum Angiospermae
Class Dicotyledonae
Order Fabales
Family Fabaceae
Subfamily Mimosoideae
Genus Albizia
Species A. lebbeck
BINOMIAL NAME - Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth.

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DESCRIPTION
 Albizia lebbeck can attain a height of 30 m and a diameter of 1 m; more often it is 15-20 m
tall with a diameter of 50 cm; bark grey-violet with rusty brown breathing pores, rough and
fissured.
 Compound leaves bipinnate, glabrous or slightly hairy on the axis; pinnae in 2-4 pairs, each
with 2-11 pairs of obliquely oblong leaflets 15-45 x 8-22 mm, shortly stalked; glabrous
glands are raised, elliptic to circular, on the upper side of the stalk close to the base and
between most pairs of leaflets.
 Flowers appear shortly after new leaves, are white, heavily scented, with the stamens free
above the corolla, in heads 18-36 mm across excluding the stamens, on a stout stalk 5-7.5 cm
long, appearing singly or in small clusters in the leaf axils and in terminal panicles; stamens
30-40, yellowish-green on top side, white underside, up to 5 cm long; flowerstalks up to 5
mm long; corolla tube, 1 cm long.
 Pods pale straw to light brown at maturity, narrow-oblong, 15-26 x 3-5 cm, papery, leathery,
flat and not raised or constricted between seeds; seeds brown, flat, orbicular or elliptic, 8-10 x
6-7 mm; transversely placed with 6- 12 in each pod.
 The genus is named after Filippo del Albizzi, a Florentine nobleman who in 1749 introduced
A. julibrissin into cultivation. The species name is from the Arabic name for this plant,
‘laebach’. When agitated by the wind, the pods and enclosed seeds are said to produce an
incessant rattle likened to women’s chatter, hence the name ‘woman’s tongue’.
DISTRIBUTION
Native: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand
Exotic: Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Barbados,
Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Cuba,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia,
French Guiana, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea,
Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali,
Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Niger,
Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Somalia, South
Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago,
Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Virgin Islands
(US), Zambia, Zimbabwe (Map shows countries where the species has been planted)
SOIL
Establishes well on fertile, well-drained loamy soils but poorly on heavy clays.
Tolerates acidity, alkalinity, heavy and eroded soils, and waterlogged soils. Examples of soil
types include, shallow sandy soils, laterite and loam laterite.
Occurs naturally on soils overlying basalt, and among sandstone boulders and
basalt outcrops on breakaway or scree slopes. It is also found in riparian situations, and on
stabilized dunes or low lateritic ledges above the beach. While it prefers welldrainedsoils of
moderate to high fertility, it will grow on less fertile soils, but is not adapted to heavy clay or
waterlogged soils. It is adapted over a wide range of pH from acid to alkaline, and also
tolerates moderate soil salinity.

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CLIMATE
A. lebbeck is a dominant species in semi-evergreen vine forests (monsoon forest) in areas
with a mean annual rainfall of 1300-1500 mm and a very dry winter. It is also found in semi
deciduous microphyll vine thicket on screes of quartz sandstone mountains. It can withstand
long, hot, dry periods and cold winters. The species occurs on soils overlying basalt and
among sandstone boulders and basalt outcrops on breakaway slopes. It is also found on the
banks of riverine sites, on stabilized dunes or low lateritic ledges above the beach. After the
1st year, it can tolerate droughts and some frost.
Altitude: 0-1800 m, Mean annual temperature: 19-35ºC, Mean annual rainfall: 500-2500
mm
PHENOLOGY
 A. lebbeck is hermaphroditic. In its natural habitat, flowering occurs from September to
October; mature pods remain on the tree for long periods and are available May-July. In
Sudan it flowers from March to May and fruits from May to August. Flowers are bisexual.
 In Northern India, the leaves commence falling in October and November and some trees are
almost leafless by the end of November. Some trees remain In full leaf even during
December. In some cases, the leaves continue falling from December to the end of February
or even during March. New leaves appear in March/April. The yellowish white flowers
having dull fragrance appear from March to May. The fruits develop rapidly, attain full size
by October and ripen by December-January.
 In the South, they ripen sooner. Trees or branches shedding leaves earlier and remaining
leafless for a larger period of time, bear plentiful of fruits. Ripening of pods takes earlier on
trees which have lost their leaves. The ripened pods as a rule hang on the trees till March,
why they are blown down by hot winds. The pods though dehiscent, remain unopen for a
considerable time until they reach to be ground.
Silvicultural characters
 Young plants are capable of standing a moderate amount of shade. However, for its best
development, the tree requires full over-head light light from the very beginning.
 The root system is largely superficial and may produce root-suckers if the roots are exposed.
It coppices very well. The seedlings are not very frost tender, the leading shoots may be
killed back during severe frost.
 Young plants are sensitive to the Drought. Due to its shallow root-system, the trees are liable
to be blown down by wind. Though deciduous, it has a heavy crown during the latter part of
hot season and suppresses the grass quite well.
 Germination is epigeous. Primary root is long, tapering, and wiry; the lateral roots are short
and fibrous distributed down the main root, nodules present. Hypocotyl distinct from the root,
cotyledonary leaves are sensile, fleshy, entire. Stem erect, wiry green, leaves alternative, first
leaf pari-pinnate, subsequent leaves bipinnate.
 The development of seedlings takes place rapidly under conditions of absence of weeds,
loose soil, sufficient soil moisture, and full overhead light. Watering has little effect on
growth unless weeding is carried out.

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Natural regeneration
In spite of the large quantities of seed produced almost annually, the natural regeneration is
decidedly scanty and sporadic. Various reasons are attributed for the failure of regeneration
viz. the fallen and uncovered seed is badly attacked by insects quickly after t=rains. Though
germination takes place quickly under full sunlight, dry weather takes heavy toll of seedlings.
Heavy shade on the other hand, retards germination and prolongs the germination period and
also exposes to insect attack. Browsing and grazing by Deer and cattle also causes mortality.
The ideal conditions for natural reproduction appear to be loose, fairly moist soil; freedom
from weeds, light shade preferably from the side in the beginning & absence of shade once
the seedlings have established themselves.
Artificial regeneration
Siris can be raised very easily by direct sowing, transplanting or stump planting, which are all
tried methods.
SEED COLLECTION
Plentiful ripe and healthy seed should be collected during January to March. Pods are best
collected off the tree by climbing or by knocking them with a long stick. The pods are dried
in the sun until they start opening and the then lightly beaten up to extract seed. 1kg of pods
gives 3170 seeds, pods weigh 800 per kg. , yield of seeds from pods is about half by weigh.
SEED STORAGE
Seeds retain viability well atleast for one year. Seeds can be stored for 4 to 5 years in sacks or
polythene bags provided they are collected off the tree. Seeds require after ripening therefore,
seeds kept for a year germinate more rapidly than fresh seeds. Experiments in U.P show 24.6
– 39.2% germination after 1 ½ years and 32.6% germination after 2 ½ years.
PRE-TREATMENT
Seeds can be sown without pre-treatment but soaking in boiling water for 24 hours or for 48
hours in cold water increases germination %. In Gujarat, pods are soaked in water for about
12 hours and then sown in the nursery beds during June-July. Other pre-treatments usually
applied for leguminous seeds are immersion in conc. Sulphuric acid for 5 minutes and
soaking in water brought to boiling point and then allowed to cool for 24 hours.
NURSERY TECHNIQUE
 Seedlings can be raised either in Nursery beds or in containers. Sunken type of nursery beds
with 1m width are usually used. Soil is mixed with rotten farm yard manure @ 25 tonnes/ha.
To check the soil borne pathogens, Brassicol or Dithane M-45 @ 5gm/m2 is used. Fertilizer
aapplication in the nursery beds may be done with P2O5 @ 50kg/ha and K2O5 @ 20 kg/ha.
Inoculation of seeds with Rhizobium & Azatobactor results in better nodular mass which
subsequently tends to produce more dry-matter production. In A. lebbeck, lime pelleting
brings further improvement in this regard (Basu & Kabi, 1987).
 For 10m x 1m bed size about 2500 seeds are required which weigh about 320 gm. The pre-
treated seed may be sown in March by broadcast sowing, dibbling and line sowing. In line
sowing, seed s sown 2 cm apart in 15-20 cm apart lines. The depth of sowing is 1.5-2 cm.

6. ALBIZIA LEBBECK
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Germination commences after 5days and continues till one month. However highest
germination % is reported by dibbling method of sowing. The plant percent in the irrigated
beds is high to about 39%.
 After the completion of germination, seedlings are spaced at about 5 cm in the rows. The
seedlings attain plantable size in July.
 For production of stumps about 8cm tall seedlings are pricked in transplanting beds. Pricking
is done in lines 25cm apart with a spacing of 10cm between the seedlings in lines. The
seedlings attain the required size for preparation of stumps in about 15months. For container
planting, 2 seeds per container are usedof which 1 is clipped off later.
DIRECT SOWING
It is done just before or at the break of monsoon. Sowing may be done in well worked up
patches, mounds, pits or lines. The commonest method is line sowing on well loosened soil;
with frequent weeding right from the beginning may give about 70% success.
ENTIRE TRANSPLANTING
 Under favourable conditions, seedlings grow very fast and attain a height of 30cm by the
commencement of rains when they are ready for planting in the field. Planting is done in July
in 30cm3 pits spaced 3m x 3m – 5m x 5m. The survival % expected may be about 70-80.
 Planting of one year old seedlings in desert areas are more successful when planted in the
foirst half of July.
STUMP PLANTING
Seedling are pricked out from nursery beds to transplant beds when about 8cm high. Stumps
i.e. root-shoot cuttings , can be made when the plants are about 15 months old at the break of
second rains, consisting of 3.5-5 cm shoot & 22-25 cm of root with an thickness of 8-13mm.
Optimum time for planting is soon after the regular monsoon rains have set in i.e. from mid-
July to mid-August, the earlier planted the better. Stump planting is a very successful method
giving anything upto 100% success. Plants reach a height of 60-90cm by the end of first rains
and a height of about 5m after 4 years.
Diseases & pests with control measures
 Root rot, stem cankers, heart rot, spot fungi and rust can damage the tree, as well as a wide
range of insect pests, including leaf- and bark-feeding caterpillars, sap suckers, wood and
seed borers and defoliators such as psyllids. In Nigeria ,the striped mealy bug, Ferrisia
virgata, harms the tree.
 Ganoderma lucidum and G. applanatum cause root rot and heart rot respectively, while
Cercospora albizae and Phyllosticta albizzinae cause leaf spots. Fusarium solani causes
greyish black canker and Ravenelia sessilis forms dark brown rust pustules on the pods. For
controlling root-rot, soil trenching with 0.1 % Carbendazium (Bevistin, Bistin, Agrogim) and
Mancozeb 0.3% is quite effective. Camptomeris albizziae causes leaf spot in nurseries which
can be controlled by the application of Topsin-M, Dithane M-45.
 The insect pests are mainly Defoliators like Bamra mundata, Enmonodia vespertilio,
Polydesma umbriocola, Rhesala imparata, Speiredonia retorta, Eriboesa alhamas, Eurema
blanda silhetana, Borers namely Indarbala quadrinotata, Xystrocera festiva and X. globosa

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and sapsuckers namely Oxyrhachis taradus. Defoliators and Leaf miners can be controlled in
the nursery stage by spraying 0.05% Fenitrothion or Methylparathion.
uses
Fodder : A. lebbeck is grown in some areas primarily as fodder for camels, water buffalo and
cattle. The leaves are reported to be good fodder, with 17-26% crude protein; 100 kg of
leaves yield 11-12 kg of digestible protein, and 37 kg of digestible carbohydrates. The pods
contain saponin and are not eaten in large amounts by sheep, although cattle eat them readily.
Apiculture : Its whitish flowers are fragrant, attracting bees. Highly regarded by bee-keepers
for the light-coloured honey its nectar provides.
Fuel : An excellent fuelwod species with a calorific value of 5200 kcal/g. A. amara fruits can
yield 10 barrels of ethanol per hectare.
Timber : Sapwood is pale; heartwood is dark brown with black streaks and very decorative.
It is moderately heavy and hard, strong and fairly durable, with a specific gravity of 0.5-0.6
kg/cubic m. The wood seasons well, works and polishes easily, can be used for interior
moulding, parquet, furniture, panelling, turnery and general construction. It is also used for
making agricultural implements and mine props. Timber plantations in India clear felled after
25-30 years yield about 10-12 cubic m/ha per year of timber, but under semi-arid conditions
and on shallow soils, a mean increment of 2-3 cubic m/ha is obtained.
Gum or resin : The trunk yields a reddish gum that is used as an adulterant of gum arabic.
Tannin or dyestuff : The bark is used locally in India for tanning fishing nets (tannin content
of 7-11%).
Medicine: Leaves and seeds are used for eye problems, and the bark to treat boils. Saponin
from pods and roots has spermicidal activity.
Other products: When dried and pounded, the bark can be used for soap.
SERVICES
Erosion control: Due to its extensive, fairly shallow root system, A. lebbek is a good soil
binder and is recommended for eroded lands and erosion control, for example along river
embankments.
Shade or shelter: The species is commonly grown as a shade tree in pastures, tea, coffee
and cardamom plantations, and along avenues. It can be planted in exposed coastal situations
and as quick-growing shelter for less hardy plants.
Nitrogen fixing: A. lebbeck is not Rhizobium specific, and native strains are nearly always
capable of producing an
abundance of nodules.
Soil improver: The nitrogen-rich leaves are valuable as mulch and green manure.
Ornamental: In India A. lebbeck is often planted along roads and in homegardens.
REFERENCES

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 http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sites/treedbs/treedatabases.asp (Orwa C, A Mutua, Kindt R
, Jamnadass R, S Anthony. 2009 Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0 )
 http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Albizia_lebbeck.PDF
 http://www.fleppc.org/ID_book/albizia%20lebbeck.pdf
 https://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/forestry/forestry_tree_see
ds/slides/Albizia%lebbeck=http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/forestry/forestry_tree_seeds/index.html
 http://www.best.bs/Invasive_plant_species.htm. BEST Commission, 2003. Invasive plant
species. Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission

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Albizia lebbeck (SHIRSON) Complete Tree
Flowers of Albizia lebbeck
leaves of Albizia lebbeck

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Seed pods of Albizia lebbeck
Seeds of Albizia lebbeck
barks of Albizia lebbeck