The acacia trees we know in Korea boast white flowers that hang in clusters like grapes,

and I remember picking and eating a lot of them when I was young.

But there are acacia trees in the Philippines too.

In fact, if you've seen the flowers below, which are very common, Filipinos will tell you it's an acacia tree.

So, I looked it up and found out the following:

"The tree referred to as 'acacia' in the Philippines primarily refers to the Rain Tree, scientifically known as Samanea saman. While it's native to Africa, it grows extensively in the Philippines due to the favorable climate and is a common sight as a roadside tree or park tree, forming a large canopy."

There's a huge one of those trees sprawling in front of my house.

The problem is, when it rains a lot like it has been lately, all sorts of small branches and leaves litter the streets and get into the house,

and cleaning them up is quite a chore.

Also, these trees sometimes fall across roads where cars travel, causing traffic chaos due to forced road closures.

They get pruned regularly, but their vitality is just top-notch...

Even after cutting everything but the main trunk, they grow this much in just a month.

In short, they're magnificent!