Cassia fistula

HABIT: Cassia fistula is a medium sized deciduous tree, 10 m tall with a straight trunk to 5 m, 1 m diameter and spreading branches. Stem bark pale grey, smooth and slender when young and dark brown and rough when old. Flowers are bright yellow in terminal, drooping racemes and fruits are indehiscent pods which contain a black pulp which on drying adheres to the septa.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Evaluated as 'Least Concern' by IUCN.

MEDICINAL USES: Cassia fistula is very important in different traditional medicinal systems because it possesses distinctive properties valuable in treating the dermal infections, inflammatory conditions, ulcers, rheumatism, jaundice as well as anorexia. The root has purgative effects; treats heart related illnesses, fever, biliousness, nausea, retained excretions among other conditions. The extracts from the leaves are effective in treating ringworm infections, cough in addition to snakebites. The fruit pulp is laxative and analgesic; it can relieve obstructions in the chest, the accumulated heat within the circulatory system as well as the intense heat accumulated within the liver tissues. Sharma demonstrated that methanolic extracts of flowers, leaves, stem bark and pulp of C. fistula have potent antioxidant properties. The antioxidant potential was verified to be stronger in the extract of stem bark then leaf extracts followed by flower extracts and lastly the pulp extracts. 

(Mwangi, R. W., Macharia, J. M., Wagara, I. N., & Bence, R. L. (2021). The medicinal properties of Cassia fistula L: A review. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 144, 112240.)

ETHNOBOTANICAL USES: Ethnobotanical uses of this tree are ornamental uses, shade tree which is used as tree in villege houses for shade. Due its peculiar drooping yellow inflorescence, this plant is utilized in many past monuments as corridor tree.