Albizia saman (Pithecellobium saman, Samanea saman)
COMMON NAME | Monkey Pod tree or
Rain Tree |
TYPE | Tree |
FAMILY | Fabaceae |
NOTES | 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". It is one of the most commonly planted avenue and park trees in the tropics and is also commonly grown as a shade tree for other crops. Research conducted at the Bogor Agricultural Institute, Indonesia, found a mature tree with a crown diameter measuring 15 meters absorbed 28.5 tons of CO2 annually. Some people believe the monkeypod tree got its name from the monkeys that congregate on its branches to eat the sweet seed pods. Others say that monkeypod is a derivation of one of the tree's scientific names of Pithecellobium, which means "monkey earring" in Greek |
GEOGRAPHIC REGION | Mexico south to Peru and Brazil |
NATIVE HABITAT | Dry lowland
grassland, coastal bushland and forest |
WEB SOURCES |
