Samanea saman

Samanea saman
The Hitachi Tree at the Moanalua Gardens, Hawaii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Caesalpinioideae
Clade:	Mimosoid clade
Genus:	Samanea
Species:	S. saman
Binomial name
Samanea saman ( Merr.[3][4]
Synonyms[3]
List Acacia propinqua A.Rich. Albizia saman (Jacq.) F.Muell. Albizzia saman (Jacq.) Merr. Calliandra saman (Jacq.) Griseb. Enterolobium saman (Jacq.) Prain Feuilleea saman (Jacq.) Kuntze Inga cinerea Willd. Inga salutaris Kunth Inga saman (Jacq.) Willd. Mimosa pubifera Poir. Mimosa saman Jacq. Pithecellobium cinereum Benth. Pithecellobium saman (Jacq.) Benth. Pithecolobium saman (Jacq.) Benth. [Spelling variant] Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr. Zygia saman (Jacq.) A.Lyons

Samanea saman is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, now in the Mimosoid clade^[5] and is native to Central and South America.^[6] It is often placed in the genus Samanea,^[7] which by yet other authors is subsumed in Albizia entirely.

Its range extends from

Saman is a wide-canopied tree with a large symmetrical umbrella-shaped crown. It usually reaches a height of 15–25 m (49–82 ft) and a diameter of 30 m (98 ft).[6]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Its branches have velvety and hairy bark.^[9] 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.^{[citation needed]}

A rain tree leaf is pinnate made of 6–16 leaflets, each leaflet is shaped like a diamond 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) long and 1–2 centimetres (0.39–0.79 in) wide with a dull top surface and finely hairy beneath. The tree sheds its leaves for a while during dry periods.^[6] Its crown is big and can provide shade, but allows rain to fall through into the ground beneath it.^[9]

The leaves fold in rainy weather and in the evenings, hence the names rain tree and five o'clock tree.^[10]

Flowers and seeds

The tree has pinkish flowers with white and red stamens, set on heads with around 12–25 flowers per head. These heads may number in the thousands, covering the whole tree.^[6]

The

• 
  Flower
• 
  A pollen grain
• 
  Pods

Names

In English it is usually known as rain tree or saman. It is also known as "monkey pod", "giant thibet", "inga saman",^{[note 1]} "cow tamarind",^[13] East Indian walnut,^{[note 2]} "soar", or "suar". In English-speaking regions of the Caribbean, it is known as coco tamarind in Grenada; French tamarind in Guyana; and samaan tree in Trinidad.^[13] In Philippine English, it is confusingly simply known as "acacia", due to its resemblance to native Acacia species.^[14]

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

In the Caribbean, it is sometimes known as marsave. It is also known as algarrobo in Cuba; guannegoul(e) in Haiti; and goango or guango in Jamaica. In French-speaking islands, it is known as gouannegoul or saman.^{[citation needed]}

In Latin America, 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; and chorona in Portuguese.^[14]

In the

In Southeast Asia, it is known as akasya or palo de China in the Philippines;^[14] meh or trembesi in Indonesia; pukul lima ("five o'clock tree") in Malaysia and Singapore;^[17][18] ampil barang ("Western tamarind") in Cambodia;^[19] ก้ามปู (kampu), ฉำฉา (chamcha), จามจุรีแดง (chamchuri daeng), จามจุรี (chamchuri) in Thai; ကုက္ကို (kokko) in Myanmar; and còng, muồng tím, or cây mưa ("rain tree") in Vietnam.

In South Asia, it is known as shiriisha in Sanskrit; শিরীষ (shirish) in Bengali; shirish in Gujarati; सीरस (vilaiti siris) in Hindi; bagaya mara in Kannada; ചക്കരക്കായ്‌ മരം (chakkarakkay maram) in Malayalam; विलायती शिरीश in Marathi; mara in Sinhalese; தூங்குமூஞ்சி மரம் (thoongu moonji maram, "sleepy faced tree") in Tamil; and నిద్ర గన్నేరు (nidra ganneru) in Telugu.^{[citation needed]}

In Madagascar, it is also known as bonara (mbaza), kily vazaha, madiromany, mampihe, or mampohehy.^{[citation needed]}

In European regions where the tree does not usually grow, its names are usually direct translations of "rain tree". These include arbre à (la) pluie (France), árbol de lluvia (Spain); and Regenbaum (Germany).^{[citation needed]}

Use

The edible fruit pulp can be made into a beverage that tastes like lemons; the pulp is also an additive to gasoline.^[9]

Its wood is used for carving and making furniture.^[6]

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.^{[citation needed]}

Since its introduction to Cambodia, 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.^[19]

Chamri (ចាមរី)^[20] is the official Khmer name for the plant because the flowers from this tree resemble the beautiful long-haired tail of the chamri (known in English as yak). Ampil barang (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

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.^[citation needed]

In Venezuela

When

Carbon sequestration

• 
  Si Phan Don, Laos
• 
  Roots fallen into the water of the Mekong in Don Det
• 
  Falling leaves in Kolkata, West Bengal
• 
  Sukabumi, West Java
• 
  Detail of the leaves
• 
  Leaves, flowers, dried pods, seeds
• 
  Mature bark
• 
  Black-rumped flameback (Dinopium benghalense)
• 

Notes

Footnotes