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Senna surattensis
Also called Solomon In All His Glory, Sunshine Tree, Scrambled Eggs
In Singapore: Scrambled Egg Bush, Kolomona, Scrambled Egg Tree, Glossy Shower, Golden Senna, Glaucous Cassia, Sunshine Tree, Bushy Cassia, Gelenggang, Kalamona, 黃槐, 黄毛野扁豆, 黃槐决明 (Grown in Singapore)
A fast-growing shrub or small tree, up to about 11 m, with compound leaves and bright yellow flowers, widely planted as a shade tree, hedge or roadside ornamental in warm regions. It tolerates drought once established but needs years to anchor firmly and can topple in strong winds.
Senna surattensis, also called glossy shower, scrambled egg tree, glossy shower, golden Senna, glaucous Cassia, sunshine tree and bushy Cassia, is a plant species of the legume family (Fabaceae) in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae that is native to southeast Asia, and possibly northern and eastern Australia.
S. surattensis is named after Surat district, situated near Bombay, India.
Having a medium tolerance for drought (especially after being established), the plant grows in well-drained, moist, loamy and marshy soils where it is planted in roadsides, parks, small gardens where it is used as a shade tree and a hedge plant. It can easily be toppled by heavy winds, therefore it needs many years to become established in ground. Hardy to USDA zone 9, it prefers to be fertilized monthly. Furthermore, the plant withstands sulphur dioxide pollution, thereby making it a commonly planted ornamental in populated regions like the Philippines and Hong Kong. It is propagated by seed.
It is noted to have been cultivated on St. Vincent and the Windward Islands prior to 1826. It may have been included (as Cassia glauca Lam.) in Grisebach's flora on the British West Indies, where it was reported in Jamaica, Saint Kitts, Antigua and St. Vincent, and also native to Guadeloupe (which is unlikely) and the East Indies. It also may have been cultivated in Trinidad by 1870 and it was introduced as an ornamental plant in Puerto Rico just after 1826.
The origin of this species is still unclear. Antecedently, it was thought to be native to coastal north Australia and Malesia, but Symon (1966) stated that it was likely introduced there. Though Liogier and Martorell (2000) consider the species native to Australia. Agricultural Research Service (2014) lists the plant as native to Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Emperor's candlesticks · Alexandrian senna · Silver senna · Matara Tea · Christmasbush · Argentine senna · African senna · American senna · Port Royal senna · False sicklepod · Java-bean · Senna odorata
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Senna surattensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
