Statue of Unity – Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat Rain Forest Ektanagar

Cassia fistula

Syn. Bactyrilobium fistula

IUCN Red List Least Concern (LC)

Local name

  • Golden shower tree (English)
  • Amaltas (Hindi)
  • Garmalo (Gujarati)

Tree type

Evergreen Deciduous
Family: Fabaceae
13m

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Cassia fistula bark

Bark

Bark greyish-brown, rough, with vertical fissures. Inner bark reddish- brown.

Cassia fistula leaves

Leaves

Pinnate leaves with 4–8 pairs of opposite leaflets. Leaflets broadly ovate to elliptic, 5–15 cm long.Young leaves reddish; mature leaves bright green, smooth.

Cassia fistula flower

Flower

Large bright golden-yellow flowers bloom in long drooping racemes (20–40 cm) during April–June, each with five petals and stamens of three distinct sizes.

Cassia fistula fruit / seeds

Fruit / Seeds

Fruit is a long cylindrical pod (30– 60 cm), turning dark brown to black when mature, with a hard shell and transverse partitions. Seeds embedded in sweet black pulp.

Cassia fistula

Did you know?

During flowering, its long, hanging clusters of bright yellow flowers can make the entire tree look like a golden waterfall.

Distribution

World map showing distribution

W. & S. India, Sri Lanka, Andaman Is., Western Australia, Yemen, Zimbabwe