The `Saman` or the `Rain Tree` is a very large and spreading type of tree and can very easily be identified. It has a wide shelter of evergreen, soft foliage and also the drafts of pink flowers. The scientists call it as `Samanea Saman`. The family of this nice tree is `Leguminosae` and the sub family is `Mimoseae`. The Hindi and Bengali speaking people named it as `Belaiti Siris`. In Tamil, it is `Enal-vakai`; in Malay, it is `Hujan-huan` and in Malayalam, it is called as `Plavu`.

In spite of having widespread twists, the shape of the tree is very much balanced and this is the main reason why this is being planted in groups in the avenues very frequently. Generally, it grows till the height of 27 m and it has the characteristics of being very tough and having long spreading branches. The bark of the tree is dark grey in colour and bear horizontal weals. The trunk normally branches quite low down. It is a suitable tree to be grown as host for ornamental epiphytes. The green cover remains dotted all over with pink and white colours during the period starting from the month of March to May and also towards the end of the year. Usually only a few flowers can be found during the rest of the year. The flowers of the tree appear like encircled and silken bunches. However, each flower stalk bears one central and a surrounding crown of florets that goes up to twenty in number. The flowers have a tube-shaped calyx and a little, yellow-lobed, cherry trumpet. The half pink and half white bunches of long stamens stick out from each flower.

The weighty and long leaves are twice featherlike. Each pinna contains four to eight pairs and it bears three to seven pairs of leaflets. They are oval-shaped and do not have any stalk. They become bigger and curvier towards the end. With an amazing power, they can change their position according to the atmospheric conditions. They spread horizontally when the sun shines fully and restrict even a single ray of light that can penetrate the dense crown. However, in the deep darkness of night or in dry weather, or during the rainy season, the pairs of the leaflets fold together, the leaf stalks bow and each pinna spins on its thickened base in order to make sure that the leaves all lie sideways. In India people strongly believe that the name `Rain Tree` was given because the tree posses an interesting habit of occasionally spraying the ground beneath with moisture. However, later botanists discovered that the spraying was caused because of the innumerable minute insects.

The fruit of the `Rain Tree` is a fleshy pod. It tastes sweet and thus very much appreciated by squirrels, horses and cattles. People use the leaves as fodder and when there is scarcity, they eat the pods. The timber of the tree is soft and light.