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Samanea saman
Known as the rain tree, monkey pod, cenizaro, saman, and cow tamarind, Samanea saman is a tall canopied tree with a large symmetrical crown. It is native to the mainland neotropics, from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, but has been widely introduced to the Pacific islands, including Hawaii, where it is categorized as an invasive species.The tree can reach a height of 25 meters and a diameter of 40 meters (but see below). Several flowering version of this tree are available e.g. with reddish pink and creamish golden colored flowers.
Growing in tropical India, especially Bengal, the tree gets its name from the moisture it collects on the ground under the tree, largely the discharge of cicadas feeding on the leaves
It was also known as Albiz[z]ia saman Jacq.
In his Travel to the Equinoctial Regions Alexander von Humboldt describes a giant saman tree near Maracay (Venezuela) as 'Zamang del Guayre', having a diameter of 190 feet. It still stands today and has the name 'Saman del Guere', being a Venezuelan national treasure.
External links
Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project page for Samanea saman
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Samanea saman
