Albizia saman (sometimes treated under the obsolete name Samanea saman) is a

species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the
Neotropics. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, but it has been
widely introduced to South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands,
including Hawaii. Common names include saman, rain tree and monkeypod (see also
below). It is often placed in the genus Samanea,[3] which by yet other authors is
subsumed in Albizia entirely.
Contents

1 Description
2 Gallery
3 Names
4 Notable trees
5 CO2 sequestration
6 Footnotes
7 References
8 External links

Description
Pink-flowered rain tree pollinated by a black carpenter bee
Kolkata, West Bengal (India).

Saman is a wide-canopied tree with a large symmetrical crown. It usually reaches a

height of 25 m (82 ft) and a diameter of 40 m. The leaves fold in rainy weather and
in the evening, hence the name "rain tree" and "five o'clock tree" (Pukul Lima) in
Malay. Several lineages of this tree are available, e.g., with reddish pink and
creamish golden colored flowers.
A giant specimen near Kanchanaburi, Thailand, known locally as chamchuri-yak
(????????????). "Chamchuri" is the Thai name of the tree species, whereas "yak" is
the Thai pronunciation of yaksha, a mythical demon, referring in this context to
the monstrous size of the tree.

During his 1799�1804 travels in the Americas, Alexander von Humboldt encountered a
giant saman tree near Maracay, Venezuela. He measured the circumference of the
parasol-shaped crown at 576 ft (about 180.8 m[4]), 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) of Icod de los
Vinos on Tenerife.[5]

The tree, called Sam�n de G�ere (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 greenhouses at
Sch�nbrunn Castle.[6] 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 twelve feet (3.66 meters) diameter at breast
height (DBH).[7] |

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.
Gallery

Albizia saman (Raintree) (2).jpg

 Albizia saman (Raintree) (3).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (4).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (5).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (6).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (7).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (8).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (9).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (10).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (11).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (12).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (13).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (14).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (15).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (17).jpg
Albizia saman (Raintree) (18).jpg

During falling leaf period

Kolkata, West Bengal

Black-rumped flameback (Dinopium benghalense) on rain tree bark

Kolkata, West Bengal (India)

Ranchi, Jharkhand

Pods
Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Leaves, flowers, dried pods, seeds

Chonburi, Thailand.

Mature Bark

Cut wood

Rain Tree Flower

Flooded Albizia Saman in Laos

Names

Albizia saman is a well-known tree, rivalled perhaps only by lebbeck and pink siris
among its genus. It is well represented in many languages and has numerous local
names in its native range. Most names that originated in Europe (where the tree
hardly grows at all) are some variety of "rain tree". The original name, saman -
known in many languages and used for the specific epithet - derives from zamang,
meaning "Mimosoideae tree" in some Cariban languages of northern Venezuela.[6]

The name "rain tree" was coined in tropical India, especially Bengal. Its origin is
the moisture that collects on the ground under the tree, largely the honeydew-like
discharge of cicadas feeding on the leaves.

English: saman, rain tree, monkey pod, giant thibet, inga saman,[8] cow
tamarind,[9] East Indian walnut,[10] soar, suar.

Grenada: coco tamarind[9]

Guyana: French tamarind[9]

Spanish: cen�zaro, acacia preta, �rbol de lluvia (rain tree), gen�zaro

 Cuba: algarrobo
Central America: carreto, cenicero, dormilon, genizaro, zarza
Colombia: campano, saman
Venezuela: carabeli, couji, lara, urero, sam�n

French: arbre � (la) pluie (rain tree)

German: Regenbaum (rain tree), Soar, Suar
Portuguese: chorona
Haitian Creole: guannegoul(e)
Jamaica: goango, guango
Trinidad: Samaan Tree

In the Caribbean region, it is occasionally called marsave.

Sanskrit: Shiriisha
Bengali: shirish ?????
Gujarati: shirish
Hindi: vilaiti siris ????
Kannada: Bhagaya mara
Malayalam: chakkarakkay maram ???????????? ???
Marathi: ??????? ????? (exotic shirish)
Sinhalese: mara
Tamil: thoongu moonji maram ???????????? ???? (Literal translation is tree with
a sleeping face, actual meaning is sleepy tree. Refers to leaves closing in the
evening)
Telugu: nidra ganneru ??????
Indonesian: meh
Malay: pukul lima (five o'clock tree, in Malaysia), pokok hujan (rain tree)
Javanese: trembesi
Khmer ampil barang (French tamarind)
Malagasy: bonara(mbaza), kily vazaha, madiromany, mampihe, mampohehy
Burmese: kokko ???????
Sundanese: ki hujan (rain tree)
Thai: ?????? (kampu), ???? (chamcha), ?????????? (chamchuri daeng), ???????
(chamchuri)
Vietnamese: c�ng, mu?ng t�m, c�y mua (rain tree)

As an introduced plant on Fiji, it is called in some regions vaivai (ni vavalagi),

from vaivai "watery" (in allusion to the tree's "rain") + vavalagi "foreign". In
some parts of Vanua Levu, Fiji 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.
Notable trees

During the production of the 1960 film Swiss Family Robinson, a 60 metres (200 ft)
tall albizia saman tree in Tobago was used for the construction of the family's
famous tree house. The set was left intact after filming, but was destroyed by
Hurricane Flora in 1963. The tree itself has survived, and is located approximately
11�12'42.8?N 60�37'46.5?W near Goldsborough, Tobago. This 200 foot figure comes
from the motion picture company, and motion picture publicity departments have been
known to exaggerate. This height needs to be independently confirmed.
CO2 sequestration
According to a research conducted at the School of Forestry of the Bogor
Agricultural Institute, Indonesia, a mature tree with a crown diameter measuring 15
meters absorbed 28.5 tons of CO2 annually. The trees have been planted in cities of
Kudus and Demak and also will be planted along the shoulder of the road from
Semarang to Losari.