Cassia fistula - Meet the Plants - National Tropical Botanical Garden Plant Database

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Taxonomy:

Cassia fistula L. (Fabaceae)

Common Names: Golden Shower, Indian-Laburnum, Pudding Pipe Tree

Kingdom: Plantae-Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta-Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta-Seed plants
Division; Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants
Class: Dicotyledonae
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Cassia
Species: fistula

Description:

This tree grows to 10 m. tall. Compound leaves made up of oval-pointed leaflets 12 to 28 centimeters long.

Multiple bright yellow to orange-yellow flowers hang in clusters about 40 cm. long, although individual flower length is 2 to 4 cm. This tree produces a dark brown bean-pod 30-60 cm long filled with a sticky pulp and 40-100 hard brown seeds. Unlike the related rainbow shower tree, C. fistula sheds its leaves around the time it flowers in March.

Staples, G. W. and D. R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i

Geographic Distribution:

C. fistula is native to S.E. Asia and is found up to 1,300 meters in the Himalay

as.

Staples, G. W. and D. R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i

Medicinal Uses:**

There are many medicinal uses for C. fistula known from Asia. The flesh of the fruit is used as a laxative, while the bark can be used to treat skin infections. In India the strongly scented pulp is sometimes added to tobacco and smoked.

Staples, G. W. and D. R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i

** The information provided above is not intended to be used as a guide for treatment of medical conditions using plants.

Status:

The tree is planted throughout the tropics for its ornamental and medicinal properties. It was introduced to Hawai’i sometime before 1880 and planted as a shady ornamental along many streets.

Staples, G. W. and D. R. Herbst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i

Indigenous Practices:

The seeds are sometimes used in lei.

Staples, G. W. and D. R. Her

bst. 2005. A Tropical Garden Flora: Plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawai`i

NTBG Herbarium Data:

Click to view an example from our herbarium

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