InTrODUCTIOn
Rain tree (Samanea saman) is easily recognized by its char-
acteristic umbrella-shaped canopy. When grown in the
open, the tree usually reaches 15-25 m (50-80 ft) in height
with a canopy diameter wider than the tree is tall. Rain tree
is most important in the Pacific as a shade tree on small
farms, along roads, in parks and pastures. The wood has
limited use for carved bowls in local markets; it could be
developed more widely as a commercial timber, comparing
favorably to black walnut. A multitude of minor uses is
documented for rain tree, most of them of purely local sig-
nificance, but all could be explored for wider applicability.
Rain tree naturalizes freely almost everywhere it has been
introduced and is considered an invasive pest in Vanuatu
and Fiji. In many other places naturalized rain tree is not
considered a problem.
DISTrIbUTIOn
Native range
Extensive cultivation has obscured the native range of rain
tree. It is believed to be native in northern South America
(Colombia, the Caribbean slope and the Orinoco drainage
of Venezuela), and in Central America as far north as El
Salvador. It is now widespread from Mexico south to Peru,
Bolivia, and Brazil. In these areas, it occurs in low-eleva-
tion dry forests and grassland/savannah habitats.
Current distribution
Family
Fabaceae (alt. Mimosaceae), legume family
Subfamily
Mimosoideae
Non-preferred scientific names
Albizia saman (Jacquin) F. Mueller
Enterolobium saman (Jacquin) Prain ex King
Inga salutaris Kunth.
Inga saman (Jacquin) Willd
Mimosa saman Jacquin
Pithecellobium saman (Jacquin) Bentham
Common names
Pacific islands
filinganga (Northern Marianas)
gouannegoul, saman (French)
gumorni spanis (Yap)
kasia kula, mohemohe (Tonga)
marmar (New Guinea)
'ohai (Hawai'i)
rain tree, monkey pod, saman (English)
tamalini, tamaligi (Samoa)
trongkon-mames (Guam)
vaivai ni vavalangi, sirsa (Fiji)
Other regions
acacia, palo de China (Philippines)
algarrobo, algarrobo del país, carreto negro, delmont Samanea saman (rain tree)
Rain tree is cultivated and naturalized throughout the
tropics. In the Pacific, rain tree is known to occur on
the following islands: American Samoa (Tutuila), Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan,
Rota), Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae,
Pohnpei), Fiji (Kanacea, Taveuni, Vanua Levu, Viti Levu),
French Polynesia (Íles Tubuai [Rurutu], Tahiti, Marquesas,
Moorea, Raiatea), Guam, Hawai'i, Marshall Islands (Jaluit,
Kwajalein), Niue, Palau (Koror), Papua New Guinea, the
Philippines, Pitcairn, Rotuma, Samoa ('Upolu), and Tonga
(Tongatapu, 'Eua, Vava'u, Lifuka/Foa). The species is also
naturalized in a number of the Caribbean Islands includ-
ing Puerto Rico. It is almost certainly even more wide-
spread than the foregoing list indicates.
bOTAnICAL DeSCrIPTIOn
Preferred scientific name
Samanea saman (Jacquin) Merrill
guannegoul, samán (Spanish)
gouannegoul, saman (French)
Size
Rain tree generally attains maximum heights of 15-25 m
(50-80 ft). In rare cases it can reach a height of 50 m (160
ft). The crown typically reaches 30 m (100 ft) in diameter.
Very large trees may reach 50-60 m (160-195 ft) in diam-
eter. Rain trees usually have a short, stout trunk of about
1-2 m (3-6.5 ft) in diameter at breast height (dbh), but the
trunk can attain 2-3 m (6.5-10 ft) dbh in exceptional cases.
Under dense planting conditions, trees may attain greater
height (to 40 m, 130 ft) with a narrower crown diameter
than when planted in the open.
Form
Rain tree has a distinctive, umbrella-shaped crown. The
crown is typically broad and domed; the horizontal spread
is greater than the height when grown in spacious, open
settings. Under plantation conditions, the crown is more
vase-shaped. Flowers
The tiny flowers (12-25 per head) are massed in pinkish
heads 5-6 cm (2-2.4 in) across and about 4 cm (1.6 in) in
rAIn Tree?
The name rain tree has been attributed to:
• The leaflets are light-sensitive and close together on
cloudy days (as well as from dusk to dawn), allowing
rain to fall through the canopy to the ground below.
• The grass is often much greener under a rain tree
than the surrounding grass.
• A steady drizzle of honeydew is often created by
sap-sucking insects.
• Nectaries on the leaf petioles excrete sugary juice
that sometimes falls from the tree like rain.
• During heavy flowering, stamens can drop from the
canopy like rain.
height. The long, bicolored stamens (white in lower half
and reddish above) give the whole inflorescence the ap-
pearance of a powder puff or feather duster held slightly
above the foliage. Thousands of heads are borne at the same
time, covering the tree in pinkish bloom. The central flower
in each head is larger, stalkless, has more petals, and is in-
capable of forming a fruit; this flower is a nectar-produc-
ing organ that attracts pollinators. Usually only one flower
per head (rarely two) is pollinated and forms a fruit.
Leaves
Leaves are alternately arranged along twigs and have a
prominent swelling (pulvinus) at the petiole base; stipules
are present and threadlike; the leaf blades are twice-even-
pinnately compound, arranged in 2-6 pairs of pinnae, each
pinna bearing 6-16 diamond-shaped leaflets, shiny green
above, dull and finely hairy beneath, 2-4 cm (0.8-1.6 in)
long and 1-2 cm (0.4-0.8 in) wide, the apical leaflets larg-
est. During dry periods trees are semi-deciduous, losing
their leaves for a short period. Where there is a definite dry
season, they may remain leafless for a period of weeks but
refoliate quickly if there is adequate moisture. This gives
the appearance that rain tree is "evergreen" in moister cli-
mates.
Fruit
Mature pods are black-brown, oblong, lumpy, 10-20 cm
long (4-8 in), 15-19 mm (0.6-0.8 in) wide, ca. 6 mm (0.25
in) thick, straight or slightly curved, not dehiscing but
eventually cracking irregularly, and filled with a sticky,
brownish pulp that is sweet and edible.
Top: Flowers and new leaves. Bottom: Fruit in varying stag-
es of ripeness. photos: C. ElEvitCh InTrODUCTIOn
Rain tree (Samanea saman) is easily recognized by its char-
acteristic umbrella-shaped canopy. When grown in the
open, the tree usually reaches 15-25 m (50-80 ft) in height
with a canopy diameter wider than the tree is tall. Rain tree
is most important in the Pacific as a shade tree on small
farms, along roads, in parks and pastures. The wood has
limited use for carved bowls in local markets; it could be
developed more widely as a commercial timber, comparing
favorably to black walnut. A multitude of minor uses is
documented for rain tree, most of them of purely local sig-
nificance, but all could be explored for wider applicability.
Rain tree naturalizes freely almost everywhere it has been
introduced and is considered an invasive pest in Vanuatu
and Fiji. In many other places naturalized rain tree is not
considered a problem.
DISTrIbUTIOn
Native range
Extensive cultivation has obscured the native range of rain
tree. It is believed to be native in northern South America
(Colombia, the Caribbean slope and the Orinoco drainage
of Venezuela), and in Central America as far north as El
Salvador. It is now widespread from Mexico south to Peru,
Bolivia, and Brazil. In these areas, it occurs in low-eleva-
tion dry forests and grassland/savannah habitats.
Current distribution
Family
Fabaceae (alt. Mimosaceae), legume family
Subfamily
Mimosoideae
Non-preferred scientific names
Albizia saman (Jacquin) F. Mueller
Enterolobium saman (Jacquin) Prain ex King
Inga salutaris Kunth.
Inga saman (Jacquin) Willd
Mimosa saman Jacquin
Pithecellobium saman (Jacquin) Bentham
Common names
Pacific islands
filinganga (Northern Marianas)
gouannegoul, saman (French)
gumorni spanis (Yap)
kasia kula, mohemohe (Tonga)
marmar (New Guinea)
'ohai (Hawai'i)
rain tree, monkey pod, saman (English)
tamalini, tamaligi (Samoa)
trongkon-mames (Guam)
vaivai ni vavalangi, sirsa (Fiji)
Other regions
acacia, palo de China (Philippines)
algarrobo, algarrobo del país, carreto negro, delmont Samanea saman (rain tree)
Rain tree is cultivated and naturalized throughout the
tropics. In the Pacific, rain tree is known to occur on
the following islands: American Samoa (Tutuila), Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan,
Rota), Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae,
Pohnpei), Fiji (Kanacea, Taveuni, Vanua Levu, Viti Levu),
French Polynesia (Íles Tubuai [Rurutu], Tahiti, Marquesas,
Moorea, Raiatea), Guam, Hawai'i, Marshall Islands (Jaluit,
Kwajalein), Niue, Palau (Koror), Papua New Guinea, the
Philippines, Pitcairn, Rotuma, Samoa ('Upolu), and Tonga
(Tongatapu, 'Eua, Vava'u, Lifuka/Foa). The species is also
naturalized in a number of the Caribbean Islands includ-
ing Puerto Rico. It is almost certainly even more wide-
spread than the foregoing list indicates.
bOTAnICAL DeSCrIPTIOn
Preferred scientific name
Samanea saman (Jacquin) Merrill
guannegoul, samán (Spanish)
gouannegoul, saman (French)
Size
Rain tree generally attains maximum heights of 15-25 m
(50-80 ft). In rare cases it can reach a height of 50 m (160
ft). The crown typically reaches 30 m (100 ft) in diameter.
Very large trees may reach 50-60 m (160-195 ft) in diam-
eter. Rain trees usually have a short, stout trunk of about
1-2 m (3-6.5 ft) in diameter at breast height (dbh), but the
trunk can attain 2-3 m (6.5-10 ft) dbh in exceptional cases.
Under dense planting conditions, trees may attain greater
height (to 40 m, 130 ft) with a narrower crown diameter
than when planted in the open.
Form
Rain tree has a distinctive, umbrella-shaped crown. The
crown is typically broad and domed; the horizontal spread
is greater than the height when grown in spacious, open
settings. Under plantation conditions, the crown is more
vase-shaped. Flowers
The tiny flowers (12-25 per head) are massed in pinkish
heads 5-6 cm (2-2.4 in) across and about 4 cm (1.6 in) in
rAIn Tree?
The name rain tree has been attributed to:
• The leaflets are light-sensitive and close together on
cloudy days (as well as from dusk to dawn), allowing
rain to fall through the canopy to the ground below.
• The grass is often much greener under a rain tree
than the surrounding grass.
• A steady drizzle of honeydew is often created by
sap-sucking insects.
• Nectaries on the leaf petioles excrete sugary juice
that sometimes falls from the tree like rain.
• During heavy flowering, stamens can drop from the
canopy like rain.
height. The long, bicolored stamens (white in lower half
and reddish above) give the whole inflorescence the ap-
pearance of a powder puff or feather duster held slightly
above the foliage. Thousands of heads are borne at the same
time, covering the tree in pinkish bloom. The central flower
in each head is larger, stalkless, has more petals, and is in-
capable of forming a fruit; this flower is a nectar-produc-
ing organ that attracts pollinators. Usually only one flower
per head (rarely two) is pollinated and forms a fruit.
Leaves
Leaves are alternately arranged along twigs and have a
prominent swelling (pulvinus) at the petiole base; stipules
are present and threadlike; the leaf blades are twice-even-
pinnately compound, arranged in 2-6 pairs of pinnae, each
pinna bearing 6-16 diamond-shaped leaflets, shiny green
above, dull and finely hairy beneath, 2-4 cm (0.8-1.6 in)
long and 1-2 cm (0.4-0.8 in) wide, the apical leaflets larg-
est. During dry periods trees are semi-deciduous, losing
their leaves for a short period. Where there is a definite dry
season, they may remain leafless for a period of weeks but
refoliate quickly if there is adequate moisture. This gives
the appearance that rain tree is "evergreen" in moister cli-
mates.
Fruit
Mature pods are black-brown, oblong, lumpy, 10-20 cm
long (4-8 in), 15-19 mm (0.6-0.8 in) wide, ca. 6 mm (0.25
in) thick, straight or slightly curved, not dehiscing but
eventually cracking irregularly, and filled with a sticky,
brownish pulp that is sweet and edible.
Top: Flowers and new leaves. Bottom: Fruit in varying stag-
es of ripeness. photos: C. ElEvitCh
wetistsaficulom
The scientific name of the banana tree is Musa Acuminata.
Nimbostratus
cedar or conifer or Christmas tree
Leucaena leucocephala
The scientific name of the flowering dogwood tree is Cornus florida. The leaf doesn't have its own scientific name.
The scientific name would be Samanea saman.
Saraca asoca it is a rain forest tree.
I believe that the scientific name for any type of water falling from the sky is precipitation but rain it's self does not have a scientific name
The scientific name of the flamboyant tree is Delonix regia.
The scientific name of a smoke tree is Cotinus Coggygria.
Scientific name of a apo pine tree?
The scientific name of kowhai tree is Sophora Microphylla
what is the scientific name of a weeping willow tree
The scientific name of a tangerine tree is Citrus reticulata.
The scientific name of the juneberry tree is Amelanchier.
dollar tree
The scientific name of Lumholtz's tree kangaroo is Dendrolagus Lumholtzii.