Cassia fistula L.

Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae
rajbrikh, Indian laburnum

LOCAL NAMES
Bengali (amultash,sondal,sonali); Cantonese (kakke); English (golden
shower,Indian laburnum,pudding pipe tree,purging cassia,purging fistula);
French (Bâton casse,casse doux,casse espagnole); Gujarati (Girmala);
Hindi (bandarlathi,bharva,suvarnaka,amaltas,rajataru,girimalah); Malay
(tengguli,rajah kayu,bereksa); Sanskrit
(saraphala,survanaka,argwadha,rajtaru); Spanish (Canâfístula
mansa,chácara,Guayaba cimarrona); Tamil (kavani,konnai,tiru
kontai,sarak-konne); Thai (chaiyaphruek,khuun); Trade name (Indian
laburnum,rajbrikh); Vietnamese (bò-cap nuóc) Flowers (Trade winds fruit)

BOTANIC DESCRIPTION
Cassia fistula is a medium sized deciduous tree, 10 m tall with a straight
trunk to 5 m, 1 m diameter and spreading branches. Stem bark pale grey,
smooth and slender when young and dark brown and rough when old.

Leaves alternate, pinnate, 30-40 cm long, with 4-8 pairs of ovate leaflets,
7.5-15 cm long, 2-5 cm broad, entire, the petiolules 2-6 mm long.

Flowers bright yellow in terminal, drooping racemes, 30-60 cm long; calyx

oblong, obtuse, pubescent; corolla with five subequal, obovate, shortly Seeds in pods at Kahului
clawed petals, to 3.5 cm across; stamens 10, upper three with erect Maui, Hawaii (Forest & Kim Starr)
filaments to 0.7 cm long and with basifixed anthers; lower three curved
and filaments with dorsifixed anthers and the median four stamens with
erect filaments, to 1 cm long and with versatile, curved anthers; pistil
sessile or stalked, ovary pubescent, style to 0.5 cm long and with terminal
stigma.

Fruit an indehiscent pod, 40-60 cm long by 1-2 cm diameter, cylindrical,

pendulous and terete, containing 25-100 seeds. The pod develops
numerous transverse septa between the seeds. When fresh the pods
contain a black pulp which on drying adheres to the septa. Seed pods at Kahului
Maui, Hawaii (Forest & Kim Starr)
Seeds lenticular, light brown and lustrous.

The generic name is from the Greek name 'kassia'.

BIOLOGY
The new leaves normally appear during March-July in India. The flowers
appear mainly from April to July, although some trees flower as late as
October, especially during dry years. The long cylindrical pods develop
rapidly and reach their full length by October and they ripen during
December-March. The ripe pods start falling during May.

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Cassia fistula L.
Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae
rajbrikh, Indian laburnum

ECOLOGY
This is a tree of deciduous forests ranging from tropical thorn to moist through subtropical thorn to moist forest zones.
Indian laburnum is reported to tolerate precipitation of 480-2 720 mm, annual temperature of 18-28.5 deg C, and pH of
5.5-8.7. The tree can withstand moderate amount of shade, is drought resistant, but not frost hardy.

BIOPHYSICAL LIMITS
Altitude:
Mean annual temperature: 18-29 deg C
Mean annual rainfall: 480-2 720 mm
Soil type: The tree prefers soils of pH 5.5-8.7

DOCUMENTED SPECIES DISTRIBUTION

Native: India
Exotic: Australia, Egypt, Ghana, Mexico, Pakistan, Zimbabwe

Native range

Exotic range

The map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does neither
suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological zone within that country,
nor that the species can not be planted in other countries than those depicted. Since
some tree species are invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to
your planting site.

Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 2 of 5

 The map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does neither
suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological zone within that country,
nor that the species can not be planted in other countries than those depicted. Since
Cassia fistula L.
some tree species are invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to
your planting site. Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae
rajbrikh, Indian laburnum

PRODUCTS
Food: Flowers are consumed by Santal people of India.

Apiculture: Produces yellow flowers in drooping racemes. It yields pollen at this time and bees collect nectar from the
extra-floral nectaries located at the base of the leaf-stalk.

Fuel: The plant has been considered as a fuelwood in Mexico.

Timber: The reddish wood, hard and heavy, weighing around 800 kg/cu. m is strong and durable, it is suited for
cabinetwork, farm implements, inlay work, posts, wheels and mortars.

Tannin or dyestuff: The bark has been employed in tanning.

Medicine: The drug "C. fistula", a mild laxative, is obtained from the sweetish pulp around the seed. Reported to be
aperient, astringent, laxative, purgative, and vermifuge, Indian laburnum is a folk remedy for burns, cancer,
constipation, convulsions, delirium, diarrhoea, dysuria, epilepsy, gravel, hematuria, pimples, and glandular tumors.
Ayurvedic medicine recognizes the seed as antibilious, aperitif, carminative, and laxative, the root is used for
adenopathy, burning sensations, leprosy, skin diseases, syphilis, and tubercular glands, the leaves for erysipelas,
malaria, rheumatism, and ulcers, the buds for biliousness, constipation, fever, leprosy, and skin disease, the fruit for
abdominal pain, constipation, fever, heart disease, and leprosy. Yunani use the leaves for inflammation, the flowers for
a purgative, the fruit as anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, abortifacient, demulcent, purgative, refrigerant, good for chest
complaints, eye ailments, flu, heart and liver ailments, and rheumatism, though suspected of inducing asthma. Seeds
are considered emetic. Konkanese use the juice to alleviate ringworm and blisters caused by the marking nut, a relative
of poison ivy. Leaf poultices are applied to the chilblains so common in the upper Sind; also used in facial massage for
brain afflictions, and applied externally for paralysis and rheumatism, also for gout. Zimbabweans use the pulp for
anthrax, blood poisoning, blackwater fever, dysentery, and malaria. Ghana natives use the pulp from around the seed
as a safe and useful purgative. Throughout the Far East, the uncooked pulp of the pods is a popular remedy for
constipation. A decoction of the root bark is recommended for cleaning wounds. In the West Indies, the pulp and/or
leaves are poulticed onto inflamed viscera, e.g. the liver. The bark and leaves are used for skin diseases, flowers used
for fever, root as a diuretic, febrifuge, for gout and rheumatism.

Other products: Seeds contain 24% crude protein, 4% crude fat, 7% crude fiber, and 50% carbohydrates with a 81% in
vitro digestibility. The foliage contains 16% crude protein, 40% carbohydrates with a 88% in vitro digestibility. FAO
(Gohl, 1981) reports the leaves to contain, on a zero moisture basis, 17.6 g protein, 66.8 g total carbohydrate, 30.2 g
fiber, 7.8 g ash, 3 270 mg Ca, and 330 mg P per 100 g. Flowers contain ceryl alcohol, kaempferol, rhein, and a
bianthroquinone glycoside, which on hydrolysis, yields fistulin and rhamnose. Leaves contain rhein, rheinglucoside, and
sennosides A and B. The rootbark contains tannin, phlobaphenes, and oxyanthraquinone substances, which probably
consist of emodin and chrysophanic acid; also contains (bark and heartwood) fistuacacidin, barbaloin, and rhein.
Stembark contains lupeol, beta-sitosterol, and hexacosanol.

SERVICES
Ornamental: Produces yellow flowers in drooping racemes, making it an extremely showy tree in bloom (being at this
time all flowers and no leaves). It is hence widely planted as an ornamental tree.

Agroforestry Database 4.0 (Orwa et al.2009) Page 3 of 5

Cassia fistula L.
Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae
rajbrikh, Indian laburnum

TREE MANAGEMENT
The tree coppices vigorously and produces root suckers freely.

GERMPLASM MANAGEMENT
Seed storage behaviour is orthodox. Seeds survive for at least 13 years in open storage at room temperature. Viability
maintained for more than 3 years in hermitic storage at room temperature with 13±2 % moisture content. C. fistula
germplasm is under long term storage at IITA Genebank.

PESTS AND DISEASES

Very susceptible to attack by scale insects and the numerous fungi.

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Cassia fistula L.
Fabaceae - Caesalpinioideae
rajbrikh, Indian laburnum

FURTHER READNG
Ahmad AA and Khattak GM. 1980. Hastening seed germination of Cassia fistula Linn. Pakistan Journal of Forestry.
30(3): 134-136.
Babeley GS and Kandya AK. 1988. On finding out some suitable pretreatments for Cassia fistula Linn. seeds. Journal of
Tropical Forestry. 4(2): 147-154.
Barthakur NN, Arnold NP and Alli I. 1995. The Indian laburnum (Cassia fistula L.) fruit: an analysis of its chemical
constituents. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. 47(1): 55-62.
Bhatta UK and Bhatnagar S. 1986. Extent of damage to seeds of Cassia fistula Linn. by a lepidopteran Trachylepidia
fructicassiella Rag in relation to host density. Indian Journal of Ecology. 13(1): 22-24.
Fagbayide JA and Fawusi MOA. 1994. Comparative studies in seed germination and seedling management in Cassia
fistula (L) and Cassia nodosa (Buch-Ham ex. Roxb). Indian Journal of Agricultural Research. 28(2): 133-140.
Girach RD, Aminuddin and Khan SA. 1993. Ethnobotanical studies on Cassia fistula L. from Orissa (India). Journal of
Research and Education in Indian Medicine. 12(3): 17-22.
Hartwell JL. 1967-1971. Plants used against cancer. A survey. Lloydia. 30-34.
Hong TD, Linington S, Ellis RH. 1996. Seed storage behaviour: a compendium. Handbooks for Genebanks: No. 4.
IPGRI.
Luna R K. 1997. Plantation trees. International Book Distributors.
Misra TN, Singh RS, Pandey HS and Pandey RP. 1996. Chemical constituents of hexane fraction of Cassia fistula pods.
Fitoterapia. 67(2): 173-174.
Perry LM. 1980. Medicinal plants of East and South East Asia : attributed properties and uses. MIT Press. South East
Asia.
Vaishnav MM and Gupta KR. 1996. Rhamnetin 3-O-gentiobioside from Cassia fistula roots. Fitoterapia. 67(1): 78-79.
Vaishnava MM, Tripathi AK and Gupta KR. 1993. Constituents of Cassia fistula roots. Fitoterapia. 64(1): 93.

SUGGESTED CITATION
Orwa C, A Mutua, Kindt R , Jamnadass R, S Anthony. 2009 Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sites/treedbs/treedatabases.asp)

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