Dilip Walse Patil

Scientific Name : Bauhinia purpurea L.

Category : Angiosperms

Status : Alive

Habit : A small to medium - sized tree. Leaves : Simple, roundish, as broad as long, divided into 2 obtuse lobes, stipules long triangular, base cordate. Inflorescence: Racemes Flowers : Showy, fragrant, in terminal and axillary corymbose racemes, bracts triangular, bracteoles 2, below the middle. Calyx hairy, dilated upwards, divided at the apex into 5 short teeth.Petals oblanceolate, long - clawed, rosy purple with veins. Fertile stamens 3, others reduced to staminodes, filaments as long as petals. Ovary stalked, style long, stigma oblique, peltate. Fruit : Pod linear flat, pointed, broad,, subwoody, glabrous, greenish tinged purple till ripe. Seeds : 12 - 15, flat. Flowering and Fruiting time : September - November Significance : Cultivated in the gardens. The tree is also known to yield gum. The leaves are used as cattle fodder and are eaten as vegetable or pickle. The bark is used by the tanning industry. It is also used to wash ulcers. The wood is good for making agricultural implements.