Samanea saman

photo credit: Forest and Kim Starr

Best practices for survivability and field observations

Respondents reported the species is found in all kinds of restoration sites from dry to wet. It is an excellent shade tree that spreads easily, creates moist understory conditions and creates a lot of leaf and flower litter (leaves are very persistent). One respondent noted it as decreasing weed growth. One observed that as a mature tree (which was 20 ft from flames in a fire) it had “a few singed leaves” and produced lots of pleasant smelling beans. The same respondent noted that these pods (which have to be raked) were observed as burning hot, but not smoldering. One observer notes that the biomass (leaves, seeds) could be a fuel load problem. Another noted that it didn’t do “great in our experiment [on our] “young lava flow [which] is too low in nutrients for strong growth.”

Stressors and pests

Sticky pods attract ants. Smaller branches are easily broken in the wind.

Availability and propagation

Available by commercial nurseries (with advance notice) and wild seedlings can be transplanted. Also readily available/propagated by seeds (seasonally).

Survey Results

For information about the survey, refer to our article: on Coastal Plants for Creating Green Breaks