Samanea saman | |
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The Hitachi Tree at the Moanalua Gardens, Hawaii | |
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 | |
Synonyms [3] | |
List
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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 Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, but it has been widely introduced to South [ citation needed ] and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii. It is a well-known tree, rivaled 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; [8] common English names include saman, rain tree and monkeypod [6] (see also § Names below).
In Cambodia it is colloquially known as the Chankiri Tree (can be written ចន្ទគិរី or ចន្ទ៍គីរី).
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]
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 seed pods of the tree are curved and leathery; they contain sticky, edible flesh covering the flat, oval seeds. [11] [12]
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 specific epithet - derives from zamang, meaning "Mimosoideae tree" in some Cariban languages of northern Venezuela. [8] This name is also where its genus name Samanea comes from. [11]
The origin of the name "rain tree" is unknown. It has been variously attributed to local names ki hujan or pokok hujan ("rain tree") in Indonesia and Malaysia because its leaves fold during rainy days (allowing rain to fall through the tree); [15] the way the relative abundance of grass under the tree in comparison to surrounding areas; the steady drizzle of honeydew-like discharge of cicadas feeding on the leaves; the occasional shower of sugary secretions from the nectaries on the leaf petioles; to the shedding of stamens during heavy flowering. [14]
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 Pacific Islands, it is known as filinganga in the Northern Marianas; trongkon-mames in Guam; gumorni spanis in Yap; kasia kula or mohemohe in Tonga; marmar in New Guinea; ʻohai in Hawaii; tamalini or tamaligi in Samoa; and vaivai ni vavalangi, vaivai moce or sirsa in Fiji. [16] The former comes 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.[ citation needed ]
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 ]
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.
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]
Khmer : ចាមរី, romanized: Chamri [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.
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 Killing Fields, an execution field used by the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian genocide, though the trees were planted at the field long before. Children and infants with parents accused of crimes against the regime were smashed against trees, in the hope that the children "wouldn't grow up and take revenge for their parents' deaths". [21]
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 ]
When Alexander von Humboldt travelled in the Americas from 1799 to 1804, he encountered a giant saman tree near Maracay, Venezuela. He measured the circumference of the parasol-shaped crown at 576 ft (about 180.8 m), [note 3] 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. [22]
The tree, called Samán de Güere (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 Schönbrunn Castle. [8] 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 12 feet (3.7 m) diameter at breast height (DBH). [23] The size of the pollen is around 119 microns and it is polyad of 24 to 32 grains.
Carbon sequestration is the capture and long-term removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 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 metres (49 ft) absorbed 28.5 metric tons (28.0 long tons; 31.4 short 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. [24]
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(help)Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835). Humboldt's quantitative work on botanical geography laid the foundation for the field of biogeography, while his advocacy of long-term systematic geophysical measurement pioneered modern geomagnetic and meteorological monitoring.
Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist who traveled with Alexander von Humboldt in Latin America from 1799 to 1804. He co-authored volumes of the scientific results of their expedition.
Albizia is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and Australia, but mostly in the Old World tropics. In some locations, some species are considered weeds.
Enterolobium cyclocarpum, commonly known as conacaste, guanacaste, caro caro, devil's ear tree, monkey-ear tree, or elephant-ear tree, is a species of flowering tree in the family Fabaceae, that is native to tropical regions of the Americas, from central Mexico south to northern Brazil (Roraima) and Venezuela. It is known for its large proportions, expansive, often spherical crown, and curiously shaped seedpods. The abundance of this tree, especially in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, where it is prized for the shady relief it provides from the intense sun, coupled with its immensity, have made it a widely recognized species. It is the national tree of Costa Rica.
Albizia julibrissin, the Persian silk tree, pink silk tree, or mimosa tree, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, native to southwestern Asia and eastern Asia.
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Pithecellobium dulce, commonly known as Manila tamarind, Madras thorn, monkeypod tree or camachile, is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Pacific Coast and adjacent highlands of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It is also sometimes known as monkeypod, but that name is also used for several other plants, including Samanea saman. It is an introduced species and extensively naturalized in the Caribbean and Florida, as well as the Philippines and Guam via the Manila galleons. It has also been introduced to Cambodia, Thailand and South Asia, It is considered an invasive species in Hawaii.
Spondias dulcis, known commonly as June plum, is a tropical tree, with edible fruit containing a fibrous pit. In the English-speaking Caribbean it is typically known as golden apple and elsewhere in the Caribbean as pommecythere or cythere. In Polynesia it is known as vī.
Cochlospermum is a genus of trees in the Bixaceae family; some classifications place this genus in the family Cochlospermaceae. It is native to tropical regions of the world, particularly Latin America, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, and Australia.
Samanea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It includes four species of trees native to the tropical Americas, ranging from Belize to Paraguay, and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. Habitats include tropical moist evergreen and seasonally-dry deciduous forest, woodland, and wooded grassland. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The type species is Samanea saman from South America.
Cinnamomum parthenoxylon is an evergreen tree in the genus Cinnamomum, 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall. It is native to South and East Asia.
Quercus humboldtii, commonly known as the Andean oak, Colombian oak or roble, is a species of oak found only in Colombia and Panamá. It is named for Alexander von Humboldt.
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Amphineurion is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1948. It contains only one known species, Amphineurion marginatum, native to Cambodia, S China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Brosimum utile(Kunth), also called Galactodendron, Pittier is a plant species in the family Moraceae.
Albizia vialeana is a tree species in the Acacia clade of the family Fabaceae, found in parts of Indo-China. Its wood is used for fuel.
A small tree with tortuous twigs, Dillenia pentagyna is a member of the family Dilleniaceae, and is found from Sulawesi to South-Central China to India and Sri Lanka. Material from the tree has some minor uses.
Utania racemosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae. It occurs in Southeast Asia from Sumatera in Indonesia to the Andaman Islands in India. Its wood is used for timber and fuel.
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