Amaltas

Cassia fistula

Bengali Hindi & English same name (in Bengali also called sonal or so(n)dal or ba(n)dorlathi)

Mid-sized ornamental tree from Indian jungles which becomes arrestingly beautiful in April - May with its drooping spray of bright yellow flowers. For the rest of the year, it is not beautiful but often conspicuous due to its stick-like hanging fruits.

Bark: Smooth yellowish when young brown and crusty in older trees.

Leaf: Up to 15’’ long, feather compound without terminal, 4-8 pairs of oppositely arranged leaflets, almost without stalk, lowest pair smallest.

Flower: In hanging clusters, bright yellow, each flower has five broad, yellow petals

Fruit: 2-3’ long pipe roughly 1’’ diameter, initially green, black when mature

Season: Leaves fall from winter till spring and the tree becomes totally leafless. Flowers appear in April and continue in rains in weaker flushes. Fresh leaves grow along with flowers. Fruits mature by next year spring.

Range/habitat: This tree is found extensively throughout forests in Indian subcontinent. Western boundary is Indus river, eastward it is across Myanmar, indo-china till Philippines. A scattered tree of both dry and moist deciduous forest and it tolerates poor soil very well.

Trivia and notes: The fruit contains a strong-smelling sweetish pulp which is a strong laxative to human. Various forest mammals, especially jackals & bears eat this fruit and become the principal agent of seed dispersion. Germination is very poor otherwise.

Where to find: Very few trees, mostly found in the south east section of the Rabindra Sarobar.