SAMANEA SAMAN: CHARACTERISTICS, TAXONOMY, HABITAT, USES, CARE - BIOLOGY - 2024

Samanea saman is a native tree of America and belongs to the Fabaceae family. It is commonly known as samán, cart, ashtray, carob, rain tree, campano, samaguare, bonarambaza, carabeli or sleeper, among others.

This tree is between 20 and 45 m high, its diameter reaches 2 m and its crown is shaped like an umbrella, which provides a very recognizable characteristic due to the broad shade offered by this tree.

Saman is one of the most beautiful trees in America. Source: pixabay.com

The bark is shed in thick scales and is dark gray in color. Its leaves are bright green, alternate and bipinnate. Its flowers are greenish-whitish, whose calyx is funnel-shaped and has striking pink or purple stamens and are arranged in terminal panicles.

Saman is one of the most beautiful trees that inhabit the tropics. Its growth rate is 0.75 m to 1.5 m per year, which is considered relatively fast. It is intolerant to cold and shady conditions. Its light requirement is quite high, as it is a heliotropic species.

Its wood is widely used and valued. It is used for fine carpentry, in the manufacture of cabinets, decorative veneers, luxury furniture, lumber, canoes and poles.

This plant species has some medicinal properties such as anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antimalarial, anticancer, for the relief of sore throat, astringent, among others. Its fruits possess antibacterial activity against pathogenic microorganisms of human beings.

Similarly, saman is very useful as an ornamental, to shade crops such as coffee or cocoa, it serves as a forage and contributes to the enrichment of nitrogen in the soil.

characteristics

Appearance

It is a tree that measures between 20 and 45 m high, has a diameter between 1 and 2 m, and the crown is very widespread in the shape of an umbrella whose shade can reach up to 55 m in diameter.

Its stem is cylindrical with an elongated base and somewhat crooked growth due to the marked heliotropism that this plant species presents. Its branches are puberulent or tomentose.

The bark of the tree is dark gray, rough in appearance, with longitudinal fissures and vertical cracks. The bark is also removable in thick irregular or rectangular flakes.

Saman leaves and flowers. Source: I, JMGarg

Leaves

Saman has bright green foliage. It has alternate, compound, bipinnate leaves (2 - 6 pairs), measuring 12 to 35 cm long and 14 to 32 cm wide. The petiole measures 15 to 40 cm.

The leaves have a pulvulus at the base of the petiole, which causes the leaves to close at night. During the dry period, the trees behave like semi-deciduous, so they lose their leaves for a short time. When this period is over, the tree quickly recovers its foliage and gives the appearance of an evergreen species.

flowers

The flowers of the samán are greenish-whitish, have striking pink or purple stamens, and are arranged in terminal panicles.

These flowers are pedicellate and the calyx is funnel-shaped, the corolla is red or yellowish red; on the other hand, the central flowers are sessile.

Generally, flowering occurs between January and April, with some variations in the months depending on the country.

Fruit

The fruits are legumes or linear pods that measure between 10 and 20 cm long and up to 2 cm wide. They are flat, brown-black in color, indehiscent and 6 to 8 seeds are formed inside.

The tender pods of saman are green. Source: I, JMGarg

The fruiting of saman occurs from February to June.

Seeds

Saman seeds are oblong in shape, reddish-brown in color, 5 to 8 mm long, surrounded by sweet mucilage.

Wood

The wood shows a light or dark brown heartwood, while the sapwood is pale yellow. The specific gravity of the wood is 0.48 and it is a moderately heavy wood.

The wood is also semi-resistant to fungal attack and resistant to termite attack.

Taxonomy

-Kingdom: Plantae

-Filo: Tracheophyta

-Class: Magnoliopsida

-Subclass: Magnoliidae

-Superorden: Rosanae

-Order: Fabales

-Family: Fabaceae

-Gender: Samanea

-Species: Samanea saman

Some synonyms for this species are Acacia propinqua, Albizia saman, Calliandra saman, Enterolobium saman, Pithecellobium cinereum, Inga cinerea, Inga salutaris, Mimosa saman (basionym), Pithecellobium saman, Zygia saman.

Samanea saman is a species widely used as an ornamental in open and public spaces. Source: Forest & Kim Starr

Habitat and distribution

Care

Light

Saman is a very heliotropic species, therefore it requires highly the incidence of direct light for its growth.

Spread

For the collection of seeds it is recommended to collect them from the tree at the moment when the legumes look dark brown. Subsequently, the fruits are manually broken, their seeds are extracted and immersed in water to eliminate the mucilage.

After removing the mucilage or gum, the seeds are placed on mesh and placed in the sun for a few hours (3-4 h). The seeds are stored in a dry room and hermetically at 4 ° C and humidity of 8%. Under these conditions, the seeds can be viable for up to 15 months, while if they are stored at room temperature, they lose their viability within six months.

It is necessary to apply a pre-germination treatment by hydrating the seeds at room temperature for 24 hours, or by immersing them in boiling water for 30 seconds.

Seed germination is epigeal and occurs 5 days after sowing, when the radicle emerges and the cotyledons open. This process lasts 17 days, at which point the true leaves appear.

The seedlings must remain in polyethylene bags for about four months until they reach approximately 25 cm in height; then they can be taken to the field.

Saman can also be propagated by stem cuttings, and stump cuttings.

Plagues and diseases

Saman is susceptible to attack by some organisms such as lepidopteran caterpillars (Ascalapha odorata, Melipotis indomita, and Polydesma indomita) which defoliate the tree and cause a serious stress problem to the plant.

Ascalapha odorata also attacks seedlings, and these are also defoliated by the lepidopteran Mocis latipes. Ants like Myrmelachista ramulorum defoliate and deform the foliage.

On the other hand, the Merobruchis columbinus beetle lays its eggs in immature fruits and the larvae subsequently damages up to 75% of the seeds.

The Cecidom yidae fly lays its eggs on immature fruits and causes abortion. Anypsipyla univitella is a lepidopteran that lays its eggs in the fruits and damages the pods and seeds.

The borer Xystrocera globosa attacks wood and causes stress on trees. Other animals that can cause damage to fruits or flowers are tapirs, monkeys, and parrots.

References

1. Tropical Agronomic Research and Teaching Center. 2000. Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr. In: Seed management of 100 forest species from Latin America. Technical Series, Technical Manual 41. Costa Rica. Page 17-18. Taken from: books.google.co.ve
2. Catalog of Life: Annual Checklist 2019. Species details Albizia saman (Jacq.) Merr. Taken from: catalogueoflife.org
3. Tropics. 2019. Samanea saman (Jacq.) Merr. Taken from: tropicos.org
4. Flora of North America. 2019. Samanea saman. Taken from: efloras.org
5. Elevitch, C. 2006. Samanea saman (rain tree). In: Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands: their culture, environment, and use. Permanent Agriculture Resources, Holualoa, Hawaii. P. 661-674. Taken from: books.google.co.ve
6. Medicinal plants. 2017. Samán: Medicinal properties. Taken from: arsenalterapeutico.com