Golden Shower Tree

Cassia fistula

Also known as Indian Laburnum, Amaltas, Purging Cassia, Ratchaphruek, Konna

At a glance

Family

Fabaceae (the legume family, subfamily Caesalpinioideae)

Type

Deciduous flowering tree

Parts used

Ripe fruit pulp (from the long seed pods), also bark, leaves, and flowers in traditional use

Size

A medium tree, typically 20 to 40 feet tall, with long dark seed pods hanging like drumsticks

Bloom

Late spring into summer, in long cascading golden racemes

Habitat

Dry deciduous forests and open woodland across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia

Acquisition

Grow or buy

Traditional remedies in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditional gentle laxative

Ornamental flowering shade tree

Traditional skin application

Culturally significant flowering tree

Traditional uses

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In Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, the sweet dark pulp found inside the long seed pods of Cassia fistula has traditionally been used as a gentle laxative, valued for being milder in action than some other purgative herbs. Across India and Southeast Asia the tree has long carried meaning well beyond the medicine chest, its golden flowering marking the arrival of the hot season and the New Year in several regional calendars. Various parts of the tree, including the bark and leaves, have also traditionally been applied to the skin in folk practice. Today the tree is grown around the world chiefly for the beauty of its cascading yellow blossoms, which is how most people come to know it first.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Senna
✦Ginger root
✦Licorice root

Substitutes

✦Senna leaf
✦Triphala

Choose it when

“When the golden racemes are bowing low over the garden wall and you want a gentle, time-honored nudge for a sluggish digestion.”

Did you know?

The golden shower tree is the national tree of Thailand, where its blossoms are called ratchaphruek, and it is also the state flower of Kerala, India, where its blooms (konna poo) are gathered each spring to decorate the shrine at the Vishu New Year festival.

Safety

Cassia fistula pod pulp has a long history as a purgative, and like other laxatives it isn't meant for prolonged use, pregnancy, or young children. The seeds inside the pods are more strongly purgative and aren't traditionally eaten, and handling the flowers or fresh pods can irritate skin for some people.