Pink-and-white shower, Apple-blossum Cassia
Cassia javanica

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

A tree up to 15 m tall. The bark is brown and smooth. The branches are spreading giving an umbrella like crown. It loses its leaves during the year. The leaves are feathery and 15-30 cm long. They are made up of 8-14 pairs of leaflets. The leaflets are 3-5 cm long. They are oval and rounded at the tip. They have short stalks. They are smooth and soft to touch. The flowers are pink and in clusters of about 10 flowers. They are on long slender stalks. The pods are 20-60 cm long and contain 50-75 seeds. The seeds are black and corky and 1-1.5 cm across. They are greenish-brown.

There are 100 Cassia species. This group has been revised to a smaller more consistent group. Also as Caesalpinaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is native to Indonesia. It grows in the plains in India. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. In XTBG Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, Cambodia, China, East Africa, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Indochina, Laos, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Pacific, Pakistan, Philippines, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, USA, Vietnam, West Africa, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Seeds chewed with betel pepper leaves.

Edible parts

Seeds, leaves, vegetable

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seeds. The seeds need treatment to break the hard seed coat. Plants can also be grown by softwood cuttings.

Plants are fairly short lived.

Its other names

Local names

Bo proek, Javanese Cassia, Kanpaphruek, Kasiid, Muong hoa-dao, Rainbow shower

Synonyms

Cassia bacillus Gaertn.; Cassia megalantha Decne.; Cathartocarpus javanicus Pers.;