Golden shower tree
Cassia fistula L.
Golden shower tree (Cassia fistula) is a legume shade tree that bursts into cascades of golden flowers in the dry season, called the queen of tropical plants; the 30–60 cm pods hold pungent black pulp used as a laxative; the reddish-brown wood is hard and durable; it is Thailand's national flower.
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Gallery
Golden shower tree — Pod & seeds (product)Golden shower tree — Tree
Golden shower tree — Branch & leaves
Golden shower tree — Flowers
Golden shower tree — Fruit
Golden shower tree — TrunkGolden shower tree — Pod & seeds (product)Golden shower tree — TreeLife cycle
From seed to productTree
A medium tree with a broad crown, golden in the dry season.
Branch & leaves
Pinnate leaves with golden buds.
Flowers
Long cascading golden racemes.
Fruit
Cylindrical pods 30–60 cm long.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- India & Sri Lanka30%
- Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos)30%
- South China & Taiwan10%
- Planted ornamentally in tropical Africa, the Americas, Caribbean20%
- Middle East (planted)10%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- Water15%
- Sugars & mucilage55%
- Fibre7%
- Tannins8%
- Protein6%
- Minerals & others9%
Uses
- Ornamental: planted on streets and in parks across the tropics; falling petals look like golden rain — widely grown in southern Vietnam
- Traditional medicine: pod pulp as laxative (amaltas/Ayurveda, once official in European pharmacopoeias); bark and leaves for skin ailments
- Timber: reddish-brown, hard — posts, furniture, carving; small wood makes good fuel and charcoal
- Culture: national flower of Thailand (royal emblem); flowers decorate festivals in India and Sri Lanka; trees near temples
Properties
- Form
- Deciduous flowering tree
- Flowering
- Dry season (Apr–Jun)
- Product
- Pods (medicinal pulp), wood, flowers
- Hallmark
- Long cascades of golden flowers
Habitat & conservation
The golden shower tree is native to the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Indochina, including Vietnam — widely planted in southern provinces and the Central Highlands. It loves full sun, tolerates drought and prefers deep, well-drained soils; it grows wild in open woodland and along rivers and is cultivated as a flowering street and shade tree. In the dry season it partly sheds its leaves and then puts on its famous display of golden flowers.
Conservation
Assessed by IUCN as Least Concern (LC) thanks to its wide range. Legume family (Fabaceae), genus Cassia.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Cassia fistula L. — Kew Science, 2026
- 2Cassia fistula (golden shower) — mô tả, phân bố, sử dụng — Wikipedia tiếng Anh, 2026
- 3Muồng hoàng yến — đặc điểm, tại Việt Nam — Wikipedia tiếng Việt, 2026
- 4阿勃勒 — 形態、用途、國花 — Wikipedia tiếng Trung, 2026
- 5Nguồn ảnh: Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên (CC BY-SA 3.0) / Lokeswaran Kaliyappan (CC0) / Basile Morin (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Didier Descouens (CC BY-SA 3.0) / Forest & Kim Starr (CC BY 3.0) / 劉久弘 (CC BY-SA 3.0) — Wikimedia Commons,