Thread: Rain Tree Pen

very nice indeed

Cheers Terry

Not a great fan of "slims" hehe, but that one shows that small can be interesting as well. Nice grain and patterning in that piece ,are the darker bits "pitted slightly" and need some fill, or just a colour variant and therefor smooth . Cheers ~ John

i've never thought to turn a pen from rain tree but that's quite nice! did it give you trouble? It's rather a good wood for tear out on faceplate work...

I like it... Raintree looks like Mango... will keep that in mind as I haven't seen raintree before.

nice pen

That's a good looking pen and well made.

Often thought, but never acted on the thought, of dying timers like Raintree.

Thanks for your comments,
John, The pen is made from the sapwood, it is resting on the piece it was cut from.
Eisbaer, I had no problem with tear out , either on bowls or spindle work.

hmmm i must have had a bad batch

Nice one WM.
Rain tree is nice to turn.
If you ever need more I have plenty
In fact if any one would like some pen blanks from rain tree (Albiza Lebbeck) let me know I will try and cut some on the weekend.

hello all I like that slimline and would like to see the rain tree wood on some better pen kits.By the way the true raintree is albizia canascens.How do I know because 4 years ago i got seeds from a tree in Katherine and planted and only last week in darwin was able to find out that they were albizia lebbuck a close relation to the raintree.Oh to be so bloody pedantic Regards Sprancis

Originally Posted by Sprancis

hello all I like that slimline and would like to see the rain tree wood on some better pen kits.By the way the true raintree is albizia canascens.How do I know because 4 years ago i got seeds from a tree in Katherine and planted and only last week in darwin was able to find out that they were albizia lebbuck a close relation to the raintree.Oh to be so bloody pedantic Regards Sprancis

I do not think that there is a true Rain tree.
You should have let me know you were in Darwin I could have loaded you up with some blanks to take home

This is the tree that I used.



Albizia lebbeck

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"Mimosa speciosa" redirects here. As described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin this refers to the Lebbeck. The Mimosa speciosa of Carl Peter Thunberg, however, is Pink Siris (Albizia julibrissin).

Albizia lebbeck


Conservation status

Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)

Scientific classificationKingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Magnoliopsida
Subclass:Rosidae
(unranked):Eurosids I
Order:Fabales
Family:Fabaceae
Subfamily:Mimosoideae
Tribe:Ingeae
Genus:Albizia
Species:A. lebbeck
Binomial nameAlbizia lebbeck
(L.) Benth.SynonymsMany, see text
Albizia lebbeck is a species of Albizia, native to tropical southern Asia, and widely cultivated and naturalised in other tropical and subtropical regions. English names for it include Lebbeck, Lebbek Tree, Flea Tree, Frywood, Koko and Woman's tongues Tree. The latter name is a play on the sound the seeds make as they rattle inside the pods. Being one of the most widespread and common species of Albizia worldwide, it is often simply called "siris" though this name may refer to any locally common member of the genus.[1]
It is a tree growing to a height of 18-30 m tall with a trunk 50 cm to 1 m in diameter. The leaves are bipinnate, 7.5–15 cm long, with one to four pairs of pinnae, each pinna with 6–18 leaflets. The flowers are white, with numerous 2.5–3.8 cm long stamens, and very fragrant. The fruit is a pod 15-30 cm long and 2.5-5.0 cm broad, containing six to twelve seeds.[2]

[edit] Uses

Its uses include environmental management, forage, medicine and wood. It is cultivated as a shade tree in North and South America[3]. In India, the tree is used to produce timber. Wood from Albizia lebbeck has a density of 0.55-0.66 g/cm3 or higher[4].
Even where it is not native, some indigenous herbivores are liable to utilize Lebbeck as a food resource. For example, the Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) has been observed feeding on it in the cerrado of Brazil.[5]

[edit] Pharmacology

Lebbeck is used as an astringent, to treat boils, cough, to treat the eye, flu, gingivitis, lung problems, pectoral problems, is used as a tonic, and is used to treat abdominal tumors[6]. The bark is used medicinally to treat inflammation[7]. Albizia lebbeck is also psychoactive[8].

Sprancis, I would be interested to see a photo of the albizia canascens, Wikipedia and Google have let me down.
Like wise if your in Tennant, Bring your trailer.

Bugger! and here I thought if it grew in a rain forest it would be a rain tree cheers ~ John