Bauhinia viridescens Desv.

Species

Angiosperms > Fabales > Fabaceae > Bauhinia

Characteristics

Shrub up to 4 m. Young branches slender, glabrous or (less common) patently hirsute. Leaves: stipules from setiform to triangular, puberulous, 2-3 mm; intrastipular spines often well-developed into curved thorns, 2-3 mm; petiole ± pubescent, 2-5 cm; lamina ovate, sometimes broader than long, 6-15 cm diam.; 7-11-nerved; bifid 1/3-2/3, usually with broad sinus; tip of lobes obtuse or acute, base truncate to cordate; upper surface glabrous, lower glabrescent or shortly pubescent particularly on the nerves. Inflorescences lateral and terminal narrow racemes, 5-15 cm; pedicels glabrous, 2-3 mm; bracts ovate, acute, 2-5 mm; bracteoles minute, inserted near the base of the pedicel. Buds ellipsoid to fusiform (varying according to presence or absence of ovary), glabrous, 6-10 mm. Hypanthium very short, turbinate, c. 1 mm. Calyx splitting spa-thaceously during anthesis. Petals greenish white, obovate to lanceolate, 7-12 mm; claw short. Male flowers: stamens 10 fertile, shorter than petals, the 5 outer the longest; filaments hairy at the base; anthers oblong, 1-2 mm. Female flowers: reduced stamens 10, unequal; ovary shortly stipitate, 6-8 mm, pubescent; style very short; stigma peltate. Pods dehiscent, flat, short-beaked, strap-shaped, pubescent when young, 5-7 by 0.7-1 cm. Seeds 6-10, compressed, orbicular, 3-4 mm diam.
More
Shrubs or small trees, to 3 m tall, dioecious. Young branches pubescent; older branches whitish. Stipules narrowly triangular and tapering, ca. 2 mm; petiole 2-3.5 cm; leaf blade suborbicular, 5-9 × 6-10 cm, papery, abaxially pubescent, adax­ially glabrous, primary veins 7-9, base truncate or shallowly cordate, apex bifid to 1/2, lobes obtuse at apex. Inflorescence a raceme, 4-8 cm, 10-15-flowered, opposite with leaves; bracts 2-3 mm, pubescent. Flower buds narrowly fusiform, 6-10 mm. Hypanthium turbinate, short. Calyx spathe open on one side. Petals greenish white, obovate-lanceolate, 7-12 mm, shortly clawed. Male flower: fertile stamens 10 in 2 whorls, subequal, ca. 10 mm; anthers oblong, 1-2 mm. Female flower: reduced stamens present; ovary shortly stalked, 6-8 mm; style short; stigma peltate, small. Legume straight or slightly curved, linear, compressed, 5-7 × 0.7-1 cm, beaked; valves leathery, glabrous. Seeds 6-10, green, ellipsoid, slightly compressed, ca. 3 mm in diam. Fl. Mar-Jul, fr. May-Jan.
An erect shrub. It grows 1-4 m tall. The branches are thin and smooth. The leaves are divided at the tip into 2 lobes. They are red when young and become green when mature. There is a small triangle shaped stipule at the base of the leaf. The leaves are 7-15 cm long by 10-15 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 3-5 cm long. The flowering arrangements are at the top of the plant in the axils of the leaves. These are 5-15 cm long. The flowers are greenish. Male and female flowers are separate. The fruit are flat pods 5-7 cm long and 1 cm wide. There are 6-10 flat seeds. These are 3 mm wide.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality dioecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 3.5 - 4.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. It grows in the tropical lowlands. In Yunnan.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture 3-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

The young leaves and fruit are eaten in salads with fish sauce. Young pods are also eaten. The flowers are used as a vegetable.
Uses medicinal
Edible flowers fruits leaves
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 21 - 42
Germination temperacture (C°) 23 - 29
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment soaking
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Bauhinia viridescens unspecified picture

Distribution

Bauhinia viridescens world distribution map, present in China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:481766-1
WFO ID wfo-0000196990
COL ID 68FKF
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Bauhinia polycarpa Bauhinia baviensis Bauhinia laui Bauhinia viridescens Bauhinia timorana Bauhinia fusifera Pauletia viridescens Bauhinia viridescens var. baviensis Bauhinia viridescens var. viridescens Bauhinia viridescens var. laui

Lower taxons

Bauhinia viridescens var. hirsuta