Cassia grandis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cassia grandis |
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Cassia
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grandis
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The Cassia grandis is a beautiful flowering plant often called the pink shower tree. In Spanish, it is known as carao. This tree belongs to the Fabaceae family, which is also known as the pea or bean family. It is originally from the neotropics, which means tropical parts of the Americas. This tree can grow very tall, up to 30 meters (about 98 feet) high!
You can find the pink shower tree growing from southern México all the way to Venezuela and Ecuador. It likes to grow in forests and open areas that are not too high up. People also plant it as an ornamental tree because its flowers are so pretty. In places like Costa Rica, people use its pods to make a thick, sweet fruit syrup that tastes a bit like molasses. This syrup is called Jarabe (or Miel) de Carao. It is used as a sweetener and is also thought to have good nutritional and health benefits.
How the Pink Shower Tree Grows
The leaves of the pink shower tree are special. They are called pinnate leaves, which means they have many small leaflets arranged like a feather. Each leaf has about 10 to 20 pairs of these small leaflets, and each leaflet is about 3 to 5 centimeters (1.2 to 2 inches) long.
During the dry season, the tree loses its old leaves. This makes way for beautiful clusters of soft pink flowers to bloom. These flowers grow in long bunches called racemes. After the flowers, the tree produces long, woody fruit capsules. These capsules can grow up to 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) long! Inside, they have many seeds. These seeds are separated by sticky, sweet parts that taste a bit like carob.
See also
- In Spanish: Cassia grandis para niños
