Paraserianthes lophantha

Plume albizia, Plume Acacia

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Plume albizia is a naturalized shrub found in coastal California bioregions including Central Coast, San Francisco Bay, southern Coastal Ranges, southern California Coast, Channel Islands, western Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges at elevations below 300 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces greenish-yellow flowers in axillary spike-like racemes with numerous stamens conspicuously extending beyond the flower. Growing as a small, unarmed evergreen shrub or small tree with multiple stems, it reaches moderate heights with distinctive feathery foliage. Its even-pinnate leaves have multiple primary leaflets with approximately 50 secondary leaflets, each less than one centimeter long, and feature a distinctive gland on the leaf petiole. The fruit is an oblong, brown pod 5 to 10 centimeters long that develops slowly and does not readily split open.

Habitat: Generally disturbed, coastal areas

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, SCoRO, SCo, ChI, WTR, PR

California counties: Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Marin, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Orange, Monterey, Ventura, San Mateo, Santa Cruz

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.