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Cassia fistula
The golden shower tree is a medium-sized tree, growing to 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall with fast growth. The leaves are deciduous, 15–60 cm (6–24 in) long, pinnate with 3–8 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet 7–21 cm (3–8 inches) long and 4–9 cm (1.5–3.5 in) broad. The flowers are produced in pendulous racemes 20–40 cm (8–15 in) long, each flower 4–7 cm diameter with five yellow petals of equal size and shape. The fruit is a legume, 30–60 cm (12–23 in) long and 1.5–2.5 cm (0.5–1 in) broad, with a pungent odor and containing several seeds. The seeds are poisonous.[1] The tree has strong and very durable wood, and has been used to construct "Ahala Kanuwa", a place at Adams Peak, Sri Lanka, which is made of Cassia fistula ("ahala", "Ehela" or aehaela, ඇහැල in Sinhala [2]) heartwood.
dry tropical lowlands. Introduced recently to the border of the Finca Escameca Grande. It receives full sun and was planted on well-drained soil.
locals have reason to believe that it has some medicinal benefits. IUCN threat status: Not evaluated
Spotted on Feb 23, 2012
Submitted on Feb 26, 2012
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