Bauhinia variegata

Bauhinia variegata is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to southeastern Asia, from southern China west to India. Common names include Orchidtree and Mountain-ebony.

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.

Footnotes

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

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Bauhinia variegata

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Bauhinia variegatapt:Bauhinia variegata

sv:Orkidébauhinia ta:மலையாத்தி vi:Ban trắng