Chankiri Tree
# Chankiri Tree

Chankiri Tree (can be written ចន្ទគិរី or ចន្ទ៍គីរី among other ways) is a colloquial Cambodian name for Samanea saman, more commonly known in English as the Rain tree or Saman. It is a wide-canopied tree with a large symmetrical umbrella-shaped crown, that when blossomed is covered in clusters of pink-white flowers. The leaves fold in rainy weather and in the evenings, hence the names rain tree and five o'clock tree. This species of flowering tree in the Fabaceae family is native to Central and South America but has been widely introduced across the tropics, especially South and Southeast Asia.

The tree has numerous local names in its native range and is well represented in many languages. Chamri (ចាមរី) is the official Khmer name for the plant because the flowers from this tree resemble the beautiful long-haired tail of the chamri (known in English as yak). Ampil barang (French tamarind) is another colloquial name for it in Cambodia.

## Introduction to Cambodia

It is unclear when and how Chankiri was introduced to Cambodia. It is possible the tree was introduced from Brazil by the French in the 1920s, together with the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) during the rubber industry's global boom in the early 1900s. It is also possible the tree came from neighboring countries in the region where the plant had been introduced earlier on by Western colonial explorers.

## Chankiri Trees in the Killing Fields

Since its introduction to Cambodia, Chankiri has been widely planted across the country thanks to its tall height and expansive branches that can shade large areas. Multiple Chankiri trees can also be found in the Killing Fields, an execution field used during the Khmer Rouge, though the trees were planted at the field long before its horrific use. During the Khmer Rouge, children and infants were smashed against trees because their parents were accused of crimes against the regime. It was so the children "wouldn't grow up and take revenge for their parents' deaths".

It was a coincidence that the Chankiri tree at the Killing Fields is one of the many trees against which the Khmer Rouge executioners beat young children and there are no specific associations locally between the Chankiri tree and the Khmer Rouge.

## Names

In addition to the Cambodian names above, the tree has different names in Central and South America where it originated, and in South and Southeast Asia where it was introduced and can now commonly be found. Other names for Chankiri includes:

* General English: Rain tree or Saman
* Central and South America: French Tamarind, Monkey Pod, Cow Tamrind and Coco Tamarind
* South Asia: shiriisha (Sanskrit), shirish in Bengali language, shirish in Gujarati language.
* Southeast Asia: chamchuri or chamchuri-yak (yak from Yaksha, mythical demon in Hindu epic, ramanhana or reamke in Khmer & Thai, to denote the giant-like size of the tree) or chamchuri-daeng in Thai, kokko in Burmese language
