There are two trees that make the Guanacaste pasture look the way it does, huge and solitary with a herd standing in the shade. One is the guanacaste. The other is this, and the crown is even wider.
Where you’ll see it
Pasture, roadsides and town plazas across the province. The old ones were left when the forest was cleared, for the cattle, and they are landmarks now.
What to know
The rain tree is a legume with fine feathery leaves that fold closed at night and in dull weather, and clusters of pink puffball flowers in the dry season. The dark sticky pods are relished by cattle and horses, which is another reason the trees were kept. The canopy of a mature one can shade a football pitch. It is not native, arriving from South America long ago, but it has been here so long and fits so well that nobody minds.
