Hi, everybody. I’m your friendly neighborhood Albizia Julibrissin. Most people call me Mimosa or Silk Tree. Although I’m just a small tyke right now, one day I hope to be as tall as 50 feet and have multiple trunks like my parents. We thrive in several environtments, but we’re most common in flower beds, along roadsides, and along creeks or streams all over Georgia and the South. Wanna see some pictures of my family?

This is one of my brothers or sisters.

You can’t see in the picture, but under those leaves are tons of little seed pods. We play a game where we try to throw our seed pods as far as we can. No one ever wins because, when we throw seed pods, the whole family is a winner! Actually, tossing seeds as far as we can is really all we ever do. It’s a simple life, but I’ like it. Here’s one of my older brothers or sisters. They are about 6 feet tall. I’ll be that tall in the next couple years.

Here are my parents. Look at how proud and majestic they are! Not surprisingly, they can throw their seeds the farthest! I love you mom and dad!

I really like where I live, here between the rose bush and the vine of hops. There’s lots of good organic material in the soil and I get plenty of sunlight. I have several brothers and sisters who live closeby and we’re all very healthy. Life is good. Oh, hey, are you going to help me throw my seeds? Yipee! Ow, wait, please be gentle …

Okay, you’re really being a little bit too rough. Actually, I’m in quite a lot of pain. I’m not comfortable with this anymore. If you keep this up, you might damage my seed pods and I won’t be able to play my family game. OW! HEY!

I can’t breathe! Holy crap, mister! You’re tearing my roots! I’ve been working on that root system all year. DAMNIT! Who knows how long it will take me to repair that damage …

NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! My nice soft soil! Where are you taking me?!?! Do you have any idea how tall my father is?! I don’t like this! I’m having trouble focusing. Blackness is closing in around me. Hard to breathe …

So cold. So cold …

AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! IT BURNS!! OH GOD!! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! PLEASE STOP!!

Can’t … breathe … growing … sleepy … What does ecnalaB weN mean? MMMmmph …

… family … avenge my death …

Stupid homosapiens, you think you can stop me? Derive as much schadenfreude as you want from killing me. Soak it up. That won’t change the fact that, next weekend, there will be 10 Mimosa plants just like me growing in the exact spot you just tore me from. You are powerless against us!! Powerless!! What, you’re not done yet?

Now where are we going?

Oh, nice touch with the middle finger, tough guy. What do you want to bet I can send roots through the bottom of this metal trash can by this time tomorrow? You haven’t seen the last of me.