Bauhinia variegata

Bauhinia variegata
Flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Genus:	Bauhinia
Species:	B. variegata
Binomial name
Bauhinia variegata L.

Bauhinia variegata (Hindi:कचनार, sanskrit: कोविदार) is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to southeastern Asia, from southern China west to Pakistan and India. Common names include Orchid tree, Camel's Foot Tree and Mountain-ebony. It is called Kachnar(Hindi), (Punjabi), (Urdu) or Kanchan(Bengali) in India.

Var. candida in Hyderabad, India.

It is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 10–12 m tall, deciduous in the dry season. The leaves are 10–20 cm long and broad, rounded, and bilobed at the base and apex. The flowers are conspicuous, bright pink or white, 8–12 cm diameter, with five petals. The fruit is a pod 15–30 cm long, containing several seeds.

This is a very popular ornamental tree in subtropical and tropical climates, grown for its scented flowers. In the Neotropics, it can be used to attract hummingbirds - such as Sapphire-spangled Emerald (Amazilia lactea), Glittering-bellied Emerald (Chlorostilbon lucidus), or White-throated Hummingbird (Leucochloris albicollis) - into gardens and parks.^[1] On the other hand, in some areas it has become naturalised and invasive.

Medicinal Uses

Acetone and methanol bark extracts of Bauhinia variegata has shown activity against some medically important bacterial strains.^[2]

Footnotes

1. ^ Baza Mendonça & dos Anjos (2005)
2. ^ African Journal of Biomedical Research, Vol. 9 (2006); 53 - 56 ISSN 1119 – 5096 © Ibadan Biomedical Communications Group.

This tree is also called Kolaar کلاڑ in pakistani punjabi . while in urdu it is called کچنار

References

• Baza Mendonça, Luciana & dos Anjos, Luiz (2005): Beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae) e seus recursos florais em uma área urbana do Sul do Brasil [Hummingbirds (Aves, Trochilidae) and their flowers in an urban area of southern Brazil]. [Portuguese with English abstract] Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 22(1): 51–59. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752005000100007 PDF fulltext

External links

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Bauhinia variegata