rain tree

rain tree

n.

A tropical American tree (Albizia saman), widely planted in warm climates as a landscaping and shade tree for its wide, spreading, even canopy.

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[Translation of Peruvian Quechua tamya kaspi : tamya, rain + kapsi, wood, stick, tree (the tree being so called because insects feeding on the tree, as well as the nectaries on its leaf stems, secrete large amounts of fluid moistening the earth beneath the tree and sometimes creating a fine rain as it drops; the designation rain tree perhaps becoming popular in English because the continual dampness under the tree allows green vegetation to flourish near the tree when the surroundings are dry, and because its leaves close on overcast days and at night, allowing rain to fall through the dense canopy, and release accumulated water when they open).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

rain tree

n

(Plants) a leguminous tree, Samanea saman, native to Central America and widely planted in the tropics for ornament. It has red-and-yellow feathery flowers and pinnate leaves whose leaflets close at the approach of rain

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mon•key•pod

(ˈmɜŋ kiˌpɒd)

n.

a tropical American tree, Pithecolabrium saman, of the legume family, having spreading branches and dense heads of small pink flowers. Also called rain tree.

[1885–90]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

rain tree - large ornamental tropical American tree with bipinnate leaves and globose clusters of flowers with crimson stamens and seed pods that are eaten by cattle Albizia saman, monkey pod, monkeypod, saman, zaman, zamang albizia, albizzia - any of numerous trees of the genus Albizia

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