The Saman Tree   
THE SAMAN TREE, seen in the Botanic Gardens and in many streets in Georgetown, is one of the most commonly-planted avenue and park trees in the tropics. Alibizia saman (its scientific name) is a large wide-canopied tree with a large symmetrical crown. It usually reaches a height of 82 ft and a diameter of 130 ft. — a very big tree  in contrast to the flamboyant.
The Saman tree adds a majestic aura to any area over which  it presides.
Common names include ‘Rain Tree’ and ‘5 o’clock tree’, names given to it because the leaves fold in rainy weather and in the evening.
The trees provide a micro-climate effect for the plants growing under their canopies. At night and on cloudy days, branches hang down, and the leaves fold down and inward, allowing rain to fall directly on the ground and promoting cooling through exposing the ground.
In the morning, the leaves unfold and resume a horizontal position, giving full shade and helping to preserve moisture.
The  range of Saman extends from Mexico, south to Peru and Brazil, but it has been widely introduced to South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii.
The tree is famous for its size and longevity.
History records that during his 1799-1804 travels in the Americas, Alexander von Humboldt, the German naturalist and explorer, encountered a giant Saman tree near Maracay (Venezuela).
He measured the circumference of the parasol-shaped crown at 576 ft; its diameter at around 190 ft;  on a trunk at 9 ft in diameter and reaching just 60 ft  in height.
Humboldt mentioned that the tree was reported to have changed little since the Spanish colonization of Venezuela; he estimated this Saman to be as old as the famous Canary Islands Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco), then over 600 years old.
This giant Saman tree in Venezuela, called Samán del Guère (transcribed Zamang del Guayre by von Humboldt) still stands today and is a Venezuelan national treasure.
Just like the dragon tree on Tenerife, the age of the Saman in Venezuela is rather indeterminate. As von Humboldt’s report makes clear, according to local tradition, it would be older than 500 years today.
The beautiful, high-quality wood of the Saman tree is generally used  for interior trim, craft, boxes, veneer, plywood and general construction.
The bark is an abundant source of gum and resin.
A mixture  of the inner bark and fresh leaves is treatment for diarrhoea, while a brew of small sections of the bark can be taken to treat stomach-ache.
A crude  alcoholic extract of the leaves is said to have an inhibiting effect on tuberculosis.
Children eat the pods, which contain a sticky, sweet-flavoured pulp.
A fruit drink is also made from the pulp.
The species is used as a shade for tea, coffee, cocoa, nutmeg and vanilla, and provides shade for pasture and grazing animals, in addition to its popular use as avenue and park trees in the tropics.