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Atago Forest and Green Protection Association

Atago Mountain Plants-Tree 6 (To-no)

This is a page of trees (flowers are displayed on a separate page for each season). Tree names are listed in order of Aiueo on this page. However, typical trees are displayed at the beginning of each page. Images of trees with flowers and fruits are also displayed on seasonal pages. Click on an image to see it in full view, or lay it down to enlarge it.
silk tree. Deciduous tree of the genus Albizia in the family Leguminosae. Also known as Nem, Nebu. It is widely distributed in the range of Japan except Iran-South China-Hokkaido. The genus Albizia is a tropical plant with about 150 species, but Albizia is exceptionally cold-tolerant and is widely cultivated even in temperate zones. The leaves of Albizia japonica hang down at night, and the leaflets close (sleeping exercise). This is the origin of the name, and in China it is regarded as a symbol of marital harmony from its kanji name.
Albizia flower. The flowering season is from June to July, and more than a dozen peduncles grow on the tips of the twigs and bloom at night, but unlike other legumes, the petals are small and inconspicuous. On the other hand, the stamens with a pink tip are long and conspicuous. The flowers have a sweet scent.
Albizia fruit. The fruits are pods and elongated. It is about 10 cm long and ripens in October to December and turns brown. After that, the pods are torn and a few to a dozen or so seeds come out. The seeds are flat oval and 7-8 mm in size.

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