阔荚合欢 kuo jia he huan

Mimosa lebbeck Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 516. 1753; Acacia lebbeck (Linnaeus) Willdenow.

Trees, deciduous, 8-12 m tall. Bark rough. Branchlets mi­nutely pubescent, glabrous when old. Stipules caducous, small; leaf rachis with disklike glands near base and at base of pinnae, pubescent or glabrous; pinnae 2-4 pairs, 6-15 cm; leaflets 4-8 pairs, narrowly elliptic or slightly obliquely oblong, 2-4.5 × (0.9-)1.3-2 cm, both surfaces glabrous or abaxially sparsely finely pubescent, main vein slightly closer to upper margin, apex obtuse or retuse. Peduncles axillary, 2 or more together, to 10 cm; corymbs 30-40-flowered. Flowers dimorphic, fragrant; pedicels 3-4 mm, puberulent. Calyx funnel-shaped, ca. 4 mm, puberulent, with short teeth. Corolla green-yellow, funnel-shaped, 7-8 mm; lobes deltoid-ovate. Stamens white or light yellow-green; tube shorter than corolla tube. Ovary glabrous, sessile. Legume straw-colored, strap-shaped, flat, 15-28 × 2.5-4.5 cm, remaining on trees long after ripening. Seeds brown, 4-12, ellipsoidal, ca. 10 × 6-7 mm; pleurogram parallel to mar­gins of seed. Fl. May-Sep, fr. Oct-May of following year. 2n = 26*.

Planted along roadsides and in gardens. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan [native to tropical Africa; introduced or natu­ralized in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka].

This plant is grown as a roadside tree and is used ornamentally and for timber.