Flower Hunter: Dwarf white bauhinia

Common names : Dwarf white bauhinia, White orchid-tree, Snowy orchid-tree,

kanchan, Safed Kachnar

Scientific name: Bauhinia acuminata Family: Fabaceae

Bauhinia is a genus of more than 500 species of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after Swiss-French botanists, the Bauhin brothers Gaspard Bauhin and Johann Bauhin.

Beautiful white flowers cover this tree in spring and fill the air with a sweet clean fragrance. The white flowers look like snowflakes hanging on the branches. Sometimes it is called Snowy Orchid Tree.
Orgin:
The exact native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but probably from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Plant Characters:

Stem:

Plant grows two to three meters tall. Young stems, petioles and inflorescence axes with sparse curled pubescence. Stipules lance-linear, 5-12 mm long, acuminate, curled puberulent, caducous; largest colleter swollen, divergent, 1.5-2.1 mm long.

Leaves:

Like the other Bauhinia species, the leaves are bilobed, shaped like an ox hoof; they are 6 to 15 cm long and broad, with the apical cleft up to 5 cm deep; the petiole is 1.5 to 4 cm long, membranous, glabrous adaxially, densely puberulent abaxially.

Flowers:

The flowers are fragrant, 8 to 12 centimetres in diameter, with five white petals, ten yellow-tipped stamens and a green stigma. The plant can flower all year round.

Inflorescences axillary racemes, 2.5-5.8 cm long; peduncles negligible; bracts and bracteoles lance-linear, 3-9 mm long, puberulent, especially on margins, caducous.

Flower characters:

Flowers with pedicel 6-12 mm long.
Hypanthium 5-9 mm long.
Calyx limb spathaceous, with few scattered hairs abaxially, apex of 5 spidery lobes.
Petals not clawed, elliptic to oblanceolate, glabrous, white.
Fertile stamens 10, filaments strigose at base.
Ovary stipitate, strigose on sutures, stigma peltate, bilobed.

Fruits:

The fruit is a pod 7.5 to 15 centimetres long and 1.5 to 1.8 centimetres broad.

Species:

There are a number of species in this genus Bauhinia. You may click link to view the Species included in Bauhinia

Some of the Cultivated Species are the following: (Click to view flowers)
Bauhinia acuminata - White flowers

Bauhinia variegata - bright pink to white flowers

Bauhinia purpurea - Pink flowers

Bauhinia blakeana - Magenta
Bauhinia galpinii - Red

Bauhinia monandra - Four petals white and one yellow with reddish streaks

Bauhinia rufescens - greenish-yellow to white and pale pink

Bauhinia tomentosa - Yellow coloured flowers

Climatic requirements:
Sunlight:

Succeeds in full sun to partial shade. Full sun exposure is preferred but they can be grown under partial sun.

Soil:

Prefers a fertile, well-drained but moisture-retentive soil. Succeeds in a variety of soils. Prefers a pH in the range 5.6 - 6.5.They thrive in alkaline soils and do not tolerate salty conditions.

Propagation:

Propagation of Bauhinia species is from seeds or cuttings.

Irrigation:

Generous watering is needed during summer; moderate moisture required in winter.

Uses:

It is widely cultivated throughout the tropics as an ornamental plant.

The plant is grown as a hedge.

Medicinal uses:

It is advantageous in treating Skin Ailments like Acne, Sores, Pimples, Skin Discoloration, etc
Its roots cooked in oil is used to treat Bums
Its bark is helpful against Cancer.
It is a good herbal remedy for Diabetic Patients.
Paste prepared from Bauhinia Acuminata Leaves is used as medication for throat infections.
Respiratory Ailments are best treated by Bauhinia Acuminata.
Its roots are effective in treating Cough and Cold.
The mixture prepared from it is a good herbal remedy for treating Asthma.
It is beneficial for controlling Liver Disorders.
Decoction prepared from its leaves and bark is a pain reliever in Biliousness.
In West Java a cold extract of the root is drunk as a cough medicine.
In Malaysia the pounded leaves are used for poulticing ulcerations of the nose.
In Thailand roots are used to treat cough, and flowers to treat headache and hypertension.

Other uses:

The root have been used for their insecticidal properties and have shown antifungal activity as well.

Note: Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen.

References:

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Dwarf white bauhinia

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