''Samanea saman'' is a species of

flowering Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

in the

pea Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

family,

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

, now in the Mimosoid clade and is native to Central and South America. It is often placed in the genus ''

Samanea ''Samanea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes four species of trees native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Belize to Paraguay, and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. Habitats include ...

'', which by yet other authors is subsumed in ''Albizia'' entirely. Its range extends from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

south to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, but it has been widely introduced to

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, as well as the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

, including

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. It is a well-known tree, rivaled perhaps only by lebbeck and pink siris among its

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

. It is well represented in many languages and has numerous local names in its native range; common English names include saman, rain tree and monkeypod (see also below). In Cambodia it is colloquially known as the Chankiri Tree (can be written or ).

Description

Tree

Saman is a wide-canopied tree with a large symmetrical umbrella-shaped crown. It usually reaches a height of and a diameter of . This species of flowering tree in the Fabaceae family is native to Central and South America but has been widely introduced across the tropics, especially South and Southeast Asia. Its branches have velvety and hairy bark. Large branches of the tree tend to break off, particularly during rainstorms. This can be hazardous as the tree is very commonly used for avenue plantation. A rain tree leaf is pinnate made of 6–16 leaflets, each leaflet is shaped like a diamond long and wide with a dull top surface and finely hairy beneath. The tree sheds its leaves for a while during dry periods. Its crown is big and can provide shade, but allows rain to fall through into the ground beneath it. The leaves fold in rainy weather and in the evenings, hence the names rain tree and five o'clock tree.

Flowers and seeds

The tree has pinkish flowers with white and red

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, set on heads with around 12–25 flowers per head. These heads may number in the thousands, covering the whole tree. The

seed pods This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnify ...

of the tree are curved and leathery; they contain sticky, edible flesh covering the flat, oval seeds. File:Albizia saman 0155.JPG, Flower File:RainTree-2019-5-8 21-33-26-01.jpg, A pollen grain File:Pods I IMG 3110.jpg, Pods

Names

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

it is usually known as rain tree or saman. It is also known as "monkey pod", "giant thibet", "inga saman",It is a rather close relative to the

inga ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s l ...

s. "cow tamarind",Among the

legumes Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consu ...

, it is not very closely related to

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

s. East Indian walnut,It is not at all closely related to

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

s. "soar", or "suar". In English-speaking regions of the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, it is known as coco tamarind in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

; French tamarind in

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

; and samaan tree in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. In

Philippine English Philippine English is a variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adjacent Asian countries. English is taught ...

, it is confusingly simply known as "acacia", due to its resemblance to native ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

'' species. The original name, ''saman'' - known in many languages and used for the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

- derives from ''zamang'', meaning "

Mimosoideae The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petal ...

tree" in some

Cariban languages The Cariban languages are a family of languages Indigenous to north-eastern South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, and they are also spoken in small poc ...

of northern Venezuela. This name is also where its genus name

comes from. The origin of the name "rain tree" is unknown. It has been variously attributed to local names ''ki hujan'' or ''pokok hujan'' ("rain tree") in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

because its leaves fold during rainy days (allowing rain to fall through the tree); the way the relative abundance of grass under the tree in comparison to surrounding areas; the steady drizzle of honeydew-like discharge of

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

s feeding on the leaves; the occasional shower of sugary secretions from the

nectaries Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, ...

on the leaf petioles; to the shedding of

s during heavy flowering. In the Caribbean, it is sometimes known as ''marsave''. It is also known as ''algarrobo'' in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

; ''guannegoul(e)'' in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

; and ''goango'' or ''guango'' in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. In French-speaking islands, it is known as ''gouannegoul'' or ''saman''. In

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, it is variously known as ''samán'', ''cenízaro'', ''cenicero'', ''genízaro'', ''carreto'', ''carreto negro'', ''delmonte'', ''dormilón'', ''guannegoul'', ''algarrobo del país'', ''algarrobo'', ''campano'', ''carabeli'', ''couji'', ''lara'', ''urero'', or ''zarza'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

; and ''chorona'' in Portuguese. In the

, it is known as ''filinganga'' in the

Northern Marianas The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.Lin, Tom C.W.Ameri ...

; ''trongkon-mames'' in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

; ''gumorni spanis'' in

Yap Yap (, sometimes written as , or ) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federate ...

; ''kasia kula'' or ''mohemohe'' in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

; ''marmar'' in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

; ''ohai'' in

; ''tamalini'' or ''tamaligi'' in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

; and ''vaivai ni vavalangi'', ''vaivai moce'' or ''sirsa'' in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. The former comes from ''vaivai'' "watery" (in allusion to the tree's "rain") + ''vavalagi'' "foreign". In some parts of

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced , , ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonic ...

the word ''vaivai'' is used to describe the lebbeck, because of the sound the seedpods make, and the word ''mocemoce'' (sleepy, or sleeping) is used for ''A. saman'' due to the 'sleepiness' of its leaves. In

, it is known as ຕົ້ນສາມສາ (''ton sam sa'') in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, ''akasya'' or ''palo de China'' in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

; ''meh'' or ''trembesi'' in

; ''pukul lima'' ("five o'clock tree") in

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

; ''ampil barang'' ("Western tamarind") in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

; ก้ามปู (''kampu''), ฉำฉา (''chamcha''), จามจุรีแดง (''chamchuri daeng''), จามจุรี (''chamchuri'') in Thai; ကုက္ကို (''kokko'') in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

; and ''còng'', ''muồng tím'', or ''cây mưa'' ("rain tree") in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. In

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, it is known as 'shiriisha'' in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

; শিরীষ (''shirish'') in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

; ''shirish'' in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

; सीरस (''vilaiti siris'') in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

; ''bagaya mara'' in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

; ചക്കരക്കായ്‌ മരം (''chakkarakkay maram'') in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

; विलायती शिरीश in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

; මාර (''māra'') in Sinhalese; தூங்குமூஞ்சி மரம் (''thoongu moonji maram'', "sleepy faced tree") in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

; and నిద్ర గన్నేరు (''nidra ganneru'') in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

. In

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, it is also known as ''bonara (mbaza), kily vazaha, madiromany, mampihe'', or ''mampohehy''. In

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an regions where the tree does not usually grow, its names are usually direct translations of "rain tree". These include ''arbre à (la) pluie'' (

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

), ''árbol de lluvia'' (

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

); and ''Regenbaum'' (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Use

The edible fruit pulp can be made into a beverage that tastes like

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

s; the pulp is also an additive to

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

. Its wood is used for carving and making furniture. The "Samanea saman" tree is one of several types of host plants that allows lac insects (''Kerria lacca'') infestation. The resultant copious sap/insect discharge caused by this insect is a harden material that is subsequently collected and processed into lac/shellac and used in making lacquerware and wood finishes.

Raintrees around the world

In Cambodia

It is unclear when and how Chankiri was introduced to Cambodia. It is possible the tree was introduced from Brazil by the French in the 1920s, together with the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) during the rubber industry's global boom in the early 1900s. It is also possible the tree came from neighboring countries in the region where the plant had been introduced earlier on by Western colonial explorers. Since its introduction to

, the ''Samanea saman'' is known locally as ''chankiri'' (ចន្ទគិរី). It has been widely planted across the country thanks to its tall height and expansive branches that can shade large areas, and as an ornamental. The fruit is eaten, and in famine times the young leaves are eaten in salads. is the official Khmer name for the plant because the flowers from this tree resemble the beautiful long-haired tail of the (known in English as yak). (French tamarind) is another colloquial name for it in Cambodia.

Chankiri Trees in the Killing Fields

Since its introduction to Cambodia, Chankiri has been widely planted across the country thanks to its tall height and expansive branches that can shade large areas. Multiple ''chankiri'' can also be found in the

Killing Fields The Killing Fields (, ) are sites in Cambodia where collectively more than 1.3 million people were killed and buried by the Communist Party of Kampuchea during Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Ci ...

, an execution field used by the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

during the

Cambodian genocide The Cambodian genocide was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodian citizens by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot. It resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979, nearly 25% of Cambodia's populati ...

, though the trees were planted at the field long before. Children and infants with parents accused of crimes against the regime were smashed against trees, so that the children "wouldn't grow up and take revenge for their parents' deaths". It was a coincidence that the Chankiri tree at the Killing Fields is one of the many trees against which the Khmer Rouge executioners beat young children and there are no specific associations locally between the Chankiri tree and the Khmer Rouge.

In Venezuela

When

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

travelled in the Americas from 1799 to 1804, he encountered a giant saman tree near

Maracay Maracay () is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of Girardot Municipality. The population of Maracay and its ...

, Venezuela. He measured the circumference of the

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionall ...

-shaped crown at 576 ft (about 180.8 m),Presuming von Humboldt used the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

foot of 1755, introduced in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

in 1793, which was (31.385 cm). its diameter was around 190 ft (about 59.6 m), on a trunk at 9 ft (about 2.8 m) in diameter and reaching just 60 ft (nearly 19 m) in height. Humboldt mentioned the tree was reported to have changed little since the Spanish colonization of Venezuela; he estimated it to be as old as the famous

Canary Islands dragon tree ''Dracaena draco'', the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a subtropical tree in the genus '' Dracaena'', native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, western Morocco, and possibly introduced into the Azores. It was first described ...

(''Dracaena draco'') of

Icod de los Vinos Icod de los Vinos is a municipality in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands (Spain), located in the northwestern part of the island. Inhabitants of Icod are known in Spanish as ''"icodenses"''. ...

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

. The tree, called ''Samán de Güere'' ( transcribed ''Zamang del Guayre'' by von Humboldt) still stands today, and is a Venezuelan national treasure. Just like the dragon tree on Tenerife, the age of the saman in Venezuela is rather indeterminate. As von Humboldt's report makes clear, according to local tradition, it would be older than 500 years today, which is rather outstanding by the genus' standards. It is certain, however, the tree is quite more than 200 years old today, but it is one exceptional individual; even the well-learned von Humboldt could not believe it was actually the same species as the saman trees he knew from the

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s at

Schönbrunn Castle Schönbrunn may refer to: * Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria * Schönbrunn Station of the Vienna U-Bahn * Schönbrunn Zoo in Schönbrunn Palace gardens * Schönbrunn (Baden), a municipality in Rhein-Neckar, Baden-Württemberg, Germany * Sch ...

.von Humboldt & Bonpland (1820): p.99 footnote A famous specimen called the "Brahmaputra Rain Tree" located at Guwahati on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India has the thickest trunk of any Saman; approximately diameter at breast height (DBH). The size of the pollen is around 119 microns and it is polyad of 24 to 32 grains.

Carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. It plays a crucial role in Climate change mitigation, limiting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide in the atmosphe ...

is the capture and long-term removal of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

from the atmosphere. According to a research conducted at the School of Forestry of the

Bogor Agricultural Institute IPB University (, abbreviated as IPB; former English name: Bogor Agricultural University in the city of Bogor) is a state-run agricultural university based in the regency of Bogor Regency, Bogor, Indonesia. IPB has long been considered one of the ...

, a mature tree with a crown diameter measuring absorbed of CO₂ annually. The trees have been planted in cities of Kudus and

Demak Demak is on the north coast of Central Java province, on the island of Java, Indonesia. * Demak, Demak, modern-day large town * Demak Sultanate, sixteenth century sultanate * Demak Regency, modern-day regency around the town {{geodis ...

and also will be planted along the shoulder of the road from

Semarang Semarang (Javanese script, Javanese: , ''Kutha Semarang'') is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial era, and is still an important regio ...

Losari Losari is an administrative district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county ...

Gallery

File:Albizia saman trunk leaning over the water on a Mekong bank in sunshine at golden hour (2).jpg,

Si Phan Don The Si Phan Don (; meaning '4,000 islands') is a riverine archipelago in the Mekong River, Champasak Province in southern Laos. Si Phan Don is part of Khong District, including the islands and part of the mainland in the east. Si Phan Don is d ...

, Laos, alt=Trunk leaning over the water in

, Laos File:Samanea saman roots (rain tree) specimen fallen into the Mekong at golden hour in Si Phan Don Laos.jpg, Roots fallen into the water of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

Don Det Don Det () is an island in the Mekong River in the Si Phan Don ("Four Thousand Islands") archipelago in Champasak Province of southern Laos. History The Don Det–Don Khon railway was a -long narrow-gauge portage railway on the islands of Don D ...

, alt=Roots fallen into the water of the

File:During falling leaf period Samanea saman.jpg, Falling leaves in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, West Bengal, alt=A tree with falling leaves in

, West Bengal File:Samanea saman Sukabumi.jpg,

Sukabumi Sukabumi () is a landlocked city surrounded by the Sukabumi Regency, regency of the same name (within which it is an enclave and exclave, enclave) in the southern foothills of Mount Gede, in West Java, Indonesia, about south of the national ca ...

, West Java, alt=Tree at roadside in

, West Java File:Albizia saman 6437.jpg, Detail of the leaves File:AlbiziaSaman.jpg, Leaves, flowers, dried pods, seeds File:Bark of Albizia saman.jpg, Mature bark File:Bark- Black-rumped Flameback I IMG 9087.jpg,

Black-rumped flameback The black-rumped flameback (''Dinopium benghalense''), also known as the lesser golden-backed woodpecker or lesser goldenback, is a woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the few woodpeckers that are seen in ...

(''Dinopium benghalense''), alt=

(''Dinopium benghalense'') on a limb File:MONKEY POT.jpg, alt=Slab of wood

Notes

Footnotes

References

* (2004)
The Golden Rain Tree
Version of 2004-MAY-01. Retrieved 2008-MAR-31. * (2005)
''Albizia saman''
Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 2008-MAR-30. * (1815): ''Reise in die Aequinoctial-Gegenden des neuen Continents'' (Part 3). J.G. Cotta, Stuttgart and Tübingen
Image/PDF fulltext
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

External links

* *
Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project page for ''Samanea saman''

{{Authority control Mimosoids Taxa named by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin Trees of Brazil Trees of Central America Trees of Peru