Golden shower - Cassia fistula

Common Name :	Golden shower tree.
Botanical Name :	Cassia fistula
Family :	Fabaceae
Bengali Name :	Sonalu, Bador lathi.
Photo Taken :	Bangladesh

This is a flowering plant that brings shower of yellow flowers during summer here in Bangladesh. Local name of the flowering plant is Shonalu, Bador lathi, Sonali, etc. Botanical name is Cassia fistula and belongs to the plant family Fabaceae. Common name of the plant is Golden shower tree, Golden rain tree, Canafistula, etc. This plant is native to South Asia (with a part of Southeast Asia). This is the national flower of Thailand.

Golden shower tree (Cassia fistula) is a medium sized plant that can grow around 10 meter in height. This is a deciduous plant. Leafs are glossy, pinnate and holds up to 8 pairs of elliptic broad leaflets. The blooming season is Summer here in Bangladesh. This is an ornamental plant and found at the roadside or parks. The plant is poisonous when ingested.

Golden shower tree (Cassia fistula) brings numerous bright yellow colored flowers on the tree. This is the reason to have such name for the tree. Flowers bloom as a cluster. It is basically numerous hanging tails from the branch of the plant. And the flowers use to be around the tail. Each flower is having five spoon shaped yellow petals. Before blooming the flower use to be a round shaped yellow ball.

Fruits are long pod holds up to hundreds of seeds in it. In Bengali we call this plant as Bador lathi means Monkey's stick. Such name is because of that long fruit (and also the monkey uses to eat the fruit). Pollination of the flower is done by the insects like Carpenter bees.

Photos of Golden shower (Cassia fistula) were taken from the following places of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh the flower is known as Shonalu ful (সোনালু ফুল), Bador lathi (বাঁদর লাঠি).
1) April 2015: Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
2) June 2015 Romna park, Dhaka.


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icflora.blogspot.com/