HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Bauhinia variegata'' is a species of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the legume family,
Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...
. It is native to an area from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
through
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
to the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
. Common names include orchid tree (though not belonging to the family
Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...
) and mountain ebony.


Description

''Bauhinia variegata'' is a small to medium-sized tree growing to tall and in
diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...
,
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
in the
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
. The
leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are obcordate shaped, long and broad, rounded, and bilobed at the base and apex. The
flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s are conspicuous, bright pink or white, diameter, with five petals. Pollens are elongated, approximately 75
microns The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a uni ...
in length. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
is a seedpod long, containing 10–15 seeds each. The seedpod dries completely on the tree, and when mature begins to twist into a helix or corkscrew shape, (see
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) *Less than *Temperatures below freezing *Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fred Belo ...
), ultimately exploding open—with a very audible "clack"—to deliver its seeds into the environs. The anatomy of the stem was studied by taking transverse section. Periderm and cortex were seen distinctly. Secondary
phloem Phloem (, ) is the living tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This transport process is ...
was wide and continuous cylindrical, it consisted of thin and narrow straight rays, three or four cylinders of discontinuous masses of fibres and randomly distributed sieve elements. Secondary
xylem Xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue (biology), tissue in vascular plants, the other being phloem; both of these are part of the vascular bundle. The basic function of the xylem is to transport water upward from the roots to parts o ...
was diffuse porous and it included vessels, fibres, xylem rays and xylem
parenchyma upright=1.6, Lung parenchyma showing damage due to large subpleural bullae. Parenchyma () is the bulk of functional substance in an animal organ such as the brain or lungs, or a structure such as a tumour. In zoology, it is the tissue that ...
. Xylem fibres had thick lignified walls or some had gelatinous walls. Xylem parenchyma cells were abundant in the xylem. Xylem rays were one cell wide; they were straight and consisted of radially elongated thick walled lignified walls. Calcium-oxalate crystals are predominantly prismatic crystals and druses type. Powder microscopical examination showed presence of fibres, parenchymatous cells, periderm and vessel elements. Histochemical analysis of stem showed presence of
protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
,
tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...
,
lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidit ...
and
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...
. The anatomy of the root was studied by taking transverse section. Secondary phloem and secondary xylem were seen distinctly. Secondary phloem had fairly wide rays, dense masses of phloem fibers and radial rows of phloem elements. Secondary xylem had much wider, thin-walled vessels which were either solitary or in radial multiples. The xylem fibers constituted gelatinous type and normal type. Calcium oxalate crystals were predominantly prismatic type. Powder microscopical examination showed presence of xylem parenchyma cells, xylem fibers and vessel elements.


In cultivation

This is a very popular
ornamental tree Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
in subtropical and tropical climates, grown for its scented flowers and also used as a food item in many South Asian cuisines. In the
Neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...
, it can be used to attract
hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...
s—such as sapphire-spangled emerald (''Amazilia lactea''), glittering-bellied emerald (''Chlorostilbon lucidus''), or white-throated hummingbird (''Leucochloris albicollis'')—into gardens and parks. On the other hand, in some areas it has become naturalised and invasive.


Uses

Kachnar is a local name in the Indian subcontinent for the edible
buds In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...
collected from the tree; it is widely used as an ingredient in many subcontinent recipes. Traditional kachnar curry is prepared using kachnar buds, yogurt, onions and native
spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
. Kachnar buds are also eaten as a stir-fried vegetable and used to make achaar, a pickle in many parts of the Indian sub-continent. It shows a good antioxidant and anticancer activity. In
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, the plant is known as ''koiralo'' and the flower is known as ''koiralo ko phool'' in
Nepali language Nepali (; , ), or ''Gorkhali'' is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official and most widely spoken Languages of Nepal, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a ''lingua fr ...
. The flower and the buds are used to make Nepalese style achaar. The achar is important part of the meal served during the Ghode Jatra festival.


Gallery

Image:Pollen of Bauhinia variegata.jpg, Pollen Image:Bauhinia variegata MHNT.BOT.2011.3.22.jpg, Seed pods and seeds – MHNT Image:Bauhinia variegata Devakanchanam leaves Bhadrachalam.jpg, 'Camel-foot' foliage File:Kanchan ful2 white orchid flower camel's foot tree.jpg, Bauhinia variegata flowers Image:Bauhinia variegata var candida in Hyderabad W IMG 4659.jpg, Var. ''candida'' in
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
, India File:Bauhinia variegata var. variegata 50D 7070.jpg, Bauhinia variegata var. variegata Image:Bauhinia variegata, Parque de la Alegría, Málaga (03).jpg, As ornamental tree in Spain File:洋紫荊 Bauhinia variegata 20220313093543 01.jpg, Thin branches Image:洋紫荊 Bauhinia variegata 20220313093543 04.jpg, Bauhinia variegata is almost leafless during flowering. '' Bauhinia purpurea'' and '' Bauhinia blakeana'', which are often confused with B. variegata, are leafy during flowering. Image:Bauhinia variagata var typica and var candida growing side by side.jpg, Bauhinia variagata var typica with pink flowering and var candida with white flowering growing side by side. Image:Bauhinia variegata var. variegata 50D 7055.jpg, Bauhinia variegata var. variegata, South Africa Image:Bauhinia variegata var. variegata 50D 7059.jpg, Bauhinia variegata var. variegata in full boom, South Africa File:PikiWiki Israel 19366 Bauhinia variegata in Neve-Yamin.JPG, File:Kanchan ful2 white orchid flower.jpg, File:Flora of India 9.jpg, File:Bauhinia variegata in Emek Beit Shean Avenue in Modiin March 2024.jpg, File:Bauhinia tree in bloom, March 2015.jpg, Var. ''candida'' in bloom File:Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) on Bauhinia variegata var candida W IMG 4673.jpg, Var. ''candida'' buds and white flowers


References


External links

''Bauhinia variegata'' in West African plants – A Photo Guid

*
Invasive Species South Africa
{{Taxonbar, from=Q840341 Bauhinia, variegata Flora of China Flora of the Indian subcontinent Flora of Indo-China Garden plants of Asia Ornamental trees Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees in Buddhism Symbols of Bihar