rain tree

n. A tropical American tree (Albizia saman), widely planted in warm climates as a landscaping and shade tree for its wide, spreading, even canopy.

[Translation of Peruvian Quechua tamya kaspi : tamya, rain + kapsi, wood, stick, tree (the tree being so called because insects feeding on the tree, as well as the nectaries on its leaf stems, secrete large amounts of fluid moistening the earth beneath the tree and sometimes creating a fine rain as it drops; the designation rain tree perhaps becoming popular in English because the continual dampness under the tree allows green vegetation to flourish near the tree when the surroundings are dry, and because its leaves close on overcast days and at night, allowing rain to fall through the dense canopy, and release accumulated water when they open).]

rain tree

n (Plants) a leguminous tree, Samanea saman, native to Central America and widely planted in the tropics for ornament. It has red-and-yellow feathery flowers and pinnate leaves whose leaflets close at the approach of rain

mon•key•pod

(ˈmɜŋ kiˌpɒd)

n. a tropical American tree, Pithecolabrium saman, of the legume family, having spreading branches and dense heads of small pink flowers. Also called rain tree. [1885–90]

Thesaurus

Noun

rain tree - large ornamental tropical American tree with bipinnate leaves and globose clusters of flowers with crimson stamens and seed pods that are eaten by cattleAlbizia saman, monkey pod, monkeypod, saman, zaman, zamangalbizia, albizzia - any of numerous trees of the genus Albizia

rain tree

rain tree,

also called monkeypod, a large leguminous tropical tree (Albizia saman or Samanea saman) of tropical America belonging to the family Leguminosae (pulsepulse,
in botany, common name for members of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae), a large plant family, called also the pea, or legume, family. Numbering about 650 genera and 17,000 species, the family is third largest, after the asters and the orchids.
..... Click the link for more information. family), the leaves of which fold together in cloudy weather and in darkness. Rain trees may attain heights of 80 ft (24 m) with a branch spread of up to 100 ft (30 m). These flat-topped trees are widely cultivated throughout the tropics as shade trees for such crops as coffee and cacao. Their edible pods are used chiefly for stock feed. The durable wood has a deep, rich color and is used for furniture. Other species of the genus are grown in warm climates for timber or food and sometimes as a source of gums and tannin. Rain trees are classified in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Leguminosae.

rain tree

Related to rain tree: Samanea saman

noun

Synonyms for rain tree

noun large ornamental tropical American tree with bipinnate leaves and globose clusters of flowers with crimson stamens and seed pods that are eaten by cattle

Synonyms

Albizia saman
monkey pod
monkeypod
saman
zaman
zamang

Related Words

albizia
albizzia