Bauhinia acuminata

Bauhinia acuminata is a species of flowering shrub native to tropical southeastern Asia. Common names include: dwarf white bauhinia, white orchid-tree and snowy orchid-tree and শ্বেত কাঞ্চন(Bengali). The exact native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but probably from Malaysia, Indonesia (Java, Borneo, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands), and the Philippines.

Contents

• Bauhinia acuminata
• Local names
• References

It grows two to three meters tall. Like the other Bauhinia species, the leaves are bilobed, shaped like an ox hoof; they are 6 to 15 centimeters long and broad, with the apical cleft up to 5 cm deep; the petiole is 1.5 to 4 centimeters long. The flowers are fragrant, 8 to 12 centimeters in diameter, with five white petals, ten yellow-tipped stamens and a green stigma. The fruit is a pod 7.5 to 15 centimeters long and 1.5 to 1.8 centimeters broad. The species occurs in deciduous forests and scrub.

It is widely cultivated throughout the tropics as an ornamental plant. It may be found as an escape from cultivation in some areas, and has become naturalised on the Cape York Peninsula, Australia.