Golden Shower Tree
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 C. fistula flowers
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| Cassia fistula L. |
The Golden Shower Tree (Indian laburnum; syn. Bactyrilobium fistula Willd., Cassia bonplandiana DC., Cassia excelsa Kunth, Cassia fistuloides Collad., Cassia rhombifolia Roxb., Cathartocarpus excelsus G.Don, Cathartocarpus fistula Pers., Cathartocarpus fistuloides (Collad.) G.Don, Cathartocarpus rhombifolius G.Don) Dok Khuen in Thailand, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to southern Asia, from southern Pakistan east through India to Myanmar and south to Sri Lanka.
It is a medium-sized tree growing to 10-20 m tall with fast growth. The leaves are deciduous or semi-evergreen, 15-60 cm long, pinnate with 3-8 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet 7-21 cm long and 4-9 cm broad. The flowers are produced in pendulous racemes 20-40 cm long, each flower 4-7 cm diameter with five yellow petals of equal size and shape. The fruit is a legume is 30-60 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm broad, with a pungent odour and containing several seeds. The seeds are poisonous.
[edit] Cultivation and uses
It is widely grown as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical areas. Not recommended for dry climates. Growth is best in full sun on well-drained soil; it is drought and salt tolerant, but will be damaged by even short spells of freezing weather. It can be subject to mildew, leaf spot and root diseases. It is known in Spanish speaking countries as caña fistula.
The golden shower tree is the national flower of Thailand; its yellow leaves symbolize Thai royalty. A 2006 flower festival, the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek, is named after the tree; the ratchaphruek is another name for the dok khuen.
The golden shower tree is also the state flower of the Kerala in India. The flowers are of ritual importance in the Vishu festival.
