Chandigarh Forests
Department of Forest & Wildlife
UT Administration
Chandigarh
Department of Forest & Wildlife
|
Division
|
Angiosperms |
|
Class
|
Dicotledons |
|
Subclass
|
Polypetalae |
|
Series |
Calyciflorae |
|
Order |
Rosales |
|
Family |
Caesalpiniaceae |
|
Genus |
Bauhinia |
|
Species |
variegata |
|
Botanical name:
|
Bauhinia variegata Linn. |
|
Local/Trade names: |
Variegated Bauhinia, Kachnar |
|
Conservation status:
|
Commonly found wild. Cultivated in gardens. |
|
Digonestic features: |
Leaves bilobed broader than long; flowering time March-April. |
|
Description: |
Medium – sized deciduous tree. Bark dark brown, nearly smooth. Leaves 10-15 cm long, broader than long with a medium cleft reaching 1/4 – 1/3 the way, 11-15-nerved. Flowers purple-white, pink or purple, 5-7 cm across, fragrant. Pods 15-25 cm long, flat, priminently veined when dry. Seeds 10-15. |
|
Phenology:
|
Fls. & Frts.: March-May, new leaves after fruiting. |
|
Distribution:
|
Sub-Himalayan tracts, also in dry forests over eastern, central and south India and Myanmar. |
|
Where to see it: |
Medicinal Plant Garden. |
|
Uses: |
Source of fodder. Roots carminative; decoction prevents obesity. Bark tonic and anthelmintic, used in scrofula and cutaneous troubles; also used for ulcers and leprosy. Bark as well as flowers used as pot-herbs; flower buds pickled. Leaves and pods eaten as a vegetable. Dried buds used for diarrhoea and dysentery and piles. Flowers laxative. Seeds yield a fatty oil. Bark yields fibre, also used for dyeing and tanning. Leaves used for bidi manufacture. Wood used for agricultural implements. |
