Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Mimosaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Tree 8-25 m tall; bark gray, rough; branches widely spreading to form a wide crown; stems cylindrical and pubescent when young. Leaves 25-35 cm long; pinnae 3-6 pairs; rachis furrowed along upper surface, pubescent, with a discoid gland between each pair of pinnae; leaflets opposite, 4-7 pairs per pinna, 2-4.5 cm long, obliquely obovate to oblong, coriaceous, pubescent on lower surface, the apex obtuse, the base rounded-obtuse, asymmetrical, the margins entire; stipules minute, early deciduous. Inflorescence axillary or terminal, the peduncles 4-6 cm long. Calyx 6-8.5 mm long, tomentose; corolla 11-13 mm long, pink; filaments white at base but pink toward the tips, 3 times longer than the corolla. Legume 15-22 X 1.4-1.6 cm, straight or slightly curved, compressed, fleshy-leathery, the margins thickened, apiculate at apex. Seeds several, 5-8 mm long, oblong to nearly square, flattened, darker at the center.
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Discussion
Common names: licorice, rain tree.
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Distribution
Cultivated on St. John, with a few spontaneous individuals. Coral Bay (A2631, A2817), Lameshur Bay (A737). Apparently native to northern South America, planted and naturalized in the West Indies and throughout the tropics.
West Indies| South America|