Rain Tree / Monkey Pod

Samanea saman

“Closes its leaves at night and before rain. Umbrella crown. Covers half an acre.”

The leaflets fold closed each evening and before rain — the biological equivalent of a weather forecast. The crown spreads in a wide, flat umbrella shape, sometimes 200 feet across in mature specimens. A nitrogen-fixing legume that improves the soil it grows in. Famous as the material for Hawaiian koa bowls. Zone 9–11. In the right climate it's one of the most beautiful shade trees on earth.