Anyone heard of a flower called "aniccam?"

[Allen W Thrasher]

I would suspect Albizia julibrissin, which according to the Wiki article < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albizia_julibrissin > is native from Iran east to China and Korea.  In many places the common, horticultural, or trade name is Mimosa.  We had several in our yard in Norfolk, Virginia, in the '50s, one unusually tall,  but all the ones in the region were killed by a disease, though they started growing back, presumably from seeds in the ground, about 10 years later.  The leaves fold up each evening and as I recall do the same when touched, although the Wiki article mentions the former but not the latter. (One online gardener's list says they do.)  The flowers are like little powder puffs, much like Mimosa pudica, and are indeed quite soft, as are the leaves.  

To judge from the wide range of climate in which it is supposedly native and the wider range in which it is ornamental or invasive, it seems adaptible in the extreme.  In some places it is regarded as invasive and the government has taken measures against it.

My impression is that India is so rich in large ornamental trees, shrubs, and vines, that small herbaceous flowers are relatively ignored.  This makes me think this tree a more likely candidate than the earth-hugging Mimosa pudica.

The Wiki article Mimosa indicates that the taxonomy of plants called Mimosa has been very confusing and shifting.


Allen


Allen W. Thrasher, Ph.D.
Senior Reference Librarian
Team Coordinator
South Asia Team, Asian Division
Library of Congress, Jefferson Building 150
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tel. 202-707-3732; fax 202-707-1724; athr at loc.gov
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Library of Congress.