Cassia javanica (Pink and White Shower)

Native from northeastern India and southern China through Southeast Asia to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia, this deciduous tree in the legume family typically grows 35 to 45 feet tall in cultivation. Its spreading crown provides shade, with compound leaves bearing 5 to 12 pairs of oval leaflets. Pink and white flower clusters appear at branch tips, followed by woody pods about a foot long. It briefly loses its leaves before producing new foliage. Oils from the pods can irritate skin. Photographed in the department of Cordoba, Colombia and Florida.