• Family : CAESALPINIACEAE
  (Pea Or Bean Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : IMLI FAMILY (ईमली फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System IV) : Leguminosae
• Subfamily : Caesalpinioideae
• Synonym(s) : Cassia rhombifolia Roxb.
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Cassia fistula L.
• Common name : Indian Laburnum, Golden Shower, Purging fistula, Fistula, Purging cassia
• Vernacular name :
  • Sonhali, Amartas, Sundaraj, Girimalah (Hindi)
  • Kakke mara, Konde mara (Kannada)
  • Sarakkonrai, Konnei (Tamil)
  • Rela (Telugu)
  • Sonari, Sunari, Argavada, Barachakunda, Bhalutherga, Bhahetherga (Oria)
  • Aragwadha (Sanskrit)
  • Kanikonna, Karnikaram, Konna, Kritamalam, Swarnaviram (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Tropical dry deciduous forests, Tropical moist deciduous forests
• Comments / notes : In plains to 1400m. Wild on hills, often planted
• Key identification features : Medium-sized tree with spreading crown; flowers yellow on drooping raceme; fruits long and hard
• Flower, Fruit : March-December
• Collector(s) Name : S.B.Manohar, B.Gurudev Singh; Syed Maqsood Ahamed
• Collection Date : 19-03-1980, 29-03-1978
• Collection Nos : KFP 11050, KFP 481
• Collection Locality : M.M Hills, Mysuru district; Devalapura, Mandya district
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : East Godavari district, Visakhapatnam district, Anantapur district, Y.S.R. Kadapa district, Prakasam district, West Godavari district, Kurnool district, Srikakulam district
  • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Odisha : Koraput district
  • Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
  • Jharkhand :
  • Madhya Pradesh : Hoshangabad district
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Sikkim : Sikkim
  • West Bengal : West Bengal
  • Himachal Pradesh : Chamba district
  • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
  • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
  • Assam : Assam
  • Nagaland : Nagaland
  • Delhi : Delhi
  • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
  • Punjab : Punjab
  • Rajasthan : Jaisalmer district, Barmer district, Bikaner district, Jodhpur district
  • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Mizoram : Mizoram
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : South Andaman
  • Manipur : Manipur
  • Tripura : Tripura
• Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature :
  • Pullaiah et al., 2001 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 2
  • J.L.Ellis, 1987- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1
  • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
  • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
  • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
  • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
  • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
  • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
  • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
  • Indigenous Plants at Biodiversity Park, Ranchi - Ranchi Afforestation Division, Forest and Environmental Department, Jharkhand
  • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 175
  • K.Ravikumar, A.C.Tangavelou, & Navendu Page. (2021). Seed plants of Karnataka, India: A concise dictionary. FRLHT-TDU, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai.
  • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla
  • P. S. N. Rao, P. M. Padhey, B. K. Sinha, H. S. Debnath, P. Lakshminarasimhan, & L. N. Ray. (1999). Flora of Andaman-Nicobar Islands (Vol. 1). Director, Botanical Survey of India.
• Read more :
  • GBIF Data Online (Access to herbarium specimens)
  • Plants of the World Online
  • World Flora Online
  • Global Plants on JSTOR
• Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Cassia fistula
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Cassia fistula. Downloaded on 4 October 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Habitat

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

GBIF Distribution