Many species are widely planted in the tropics as orchid trees, particularly in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal and southeastern China. Other common names include mountain ebony and kachnar. Before the family was reorganised,[5] a number of genera including the lianas of genus Phanera were placed here (see related genera).
In the United States, the trees grow in Hawaii, coastal California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. There are native species, like Bauhinia lunarioides native to Texas and widely planted in the Southwest as a landscape plant.[7]
Parts of some species of bauhinia like B. purpurea and B. malabarica are used in Filipino cuisine (known collectively as alinbánban or alinbángbang,[8] "butterfly").[9]
Bauhinia trees typically reach a height of 6–12 m and their branches spread 3–6 m outwards. The lobed leaves usually are 10–15 cm across.
The five-petaled flowers are 7.5–12.5 cm diameter, generally in shades of red, pink, purple, orange, or yellow, and are often fragrant. The tree begins flowering in late winter and often continues to flower into early summer. Depending on the species, Bauhinia flowers are usually in magenta, mauve, pink or white hues with crimson highlights.
Cultivationedit
Propagation of Bauhinia species is from seeds or cuttings. They thrive in alkaline soils and do not tolerate salty conditions. Full sun exposure is preferred but they can be grown under partial sun. Generous watering is needed during summer; moderate moisture required in winter.
Speciesedit
Accepted speciesedit
Plants of the World Online currently (March 2023) includes the following species:[2][10][11]
^ ab"Genus: Bauhinia L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-03-29. Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
^Wunderlin RP (2010). "Reorganization of the Cercideae (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae)" (PDF). Phytoneuron. 48: 1–5.
^Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607; OED: "Bauhinia"
^ abThe Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG). (2017). "A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny". Taxon. 66 (1): 44–77. doi:10.12705/661.3. hdl:10568/90658.
^Sinou C, Forest F, Lewis GP, Bruneau A (2009). "The genus Bauhinia s.l. (Leguminosae): a phylogeny based on the plastid trnL–trnF region". Botany. 87 (10): 947–960. doi:10.1139/B09-065.
^Merrill, Elmer Drew (1903). A dictionary of the plant names of the Philippine Islands. Bureau of Public Printing, Department of The Interior. p. 128 – via University of Michigan Digital Collections.
^Seidemann, Johannes (2005). World Spice Plants. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. p. 64. ISBN 9783540279082.
^"ILDIS LegumeWeb entry for Bauhinia". International Legume Database & Information Service. Cardiff School of Computer Science & Informatics. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
^ abWang Q, Song Z, Chen Y, Shen S, Li Z (2014). "Leaves and fruits of Bauhinia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, Cercideae) from the Oligocene Ningming Formation of Guangxi, South China and their biogeographic implications". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 14: 88. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-14-88. PMC4101841. PMID 24758153.
^Bell W-A. (1963). Upper Cretaceous Floras of the Dunvegan, Bad Heart, and Milk River Formations of Western Canada (94th ed.). Canada: Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys.
^Jacques FM, Shi GL, Su T, Zhou ZK (2015). "A tropical forest of the middle Miocene of Fujian (SE China) reveals Sino-Indian biogeographic affinities". Rev Palaeobot Palynol. 216: 76–91. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2015.02.001.
^Bell W-A. (1957). Flora of the Upper Cretaceous Nanaimo Group of Vancouver Island. British Columbia: E. Cloutier. pp. 1–84. doi:10.4095/101457. Archived from the original on 2017-03-07. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
^Tao JR, Zhou ZK, Liu YS (2000). The Evolution of the Late Cretaceous–Cenozoic floras in China. Beijing: Science Press.
^Chen YF, Zhang DX (2005). "Bauhinia larsenii, a fossil legume from Guangxi, China". Bot J Linn Soc. 147 (4): 437–440. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2005.00373.x.
^Berry E-W. (1917). "Fossil plants from Bolivia and their bearing upon the age of uplift of the eastern Andes" (PDF). Proc US Natl Mus. 54 (2229): 103–164. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.54-2229.103. hdl:10088/15029.
^Eisenmann V. (1994). "Equidae of the Albertine rift valley, Uganda". Geol Paleobiol Albertine Rift Valley, Uganda-Zaire. 2: 289–307.
^Lin YX, Wong WO, Shi GL, Shen S, Li ZY (2015). "Bilobate leaves of Bauhinia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, Cercideae) from the middle Miocene of Fujian Province, southeastern China and their biogeographic implications". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15: 252. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0540-9. PMC4647482. PMID 26572133.
^Meng HH, Jacques FM, Su T, Huang YJ, Zhang ST, Ma HJ, Zhou ZK (2014). "New biogeographic insight into Bauhinia s.l. (Leguminosae): Integration from fossil records and molecular analyses". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 14: 181. doi:10.1186/s12862-014-0181-4. PMC4360257. PMID 25288346.
^Knowlton F-H. (1899). "Fossil flora of the Yellowstone National Park". US Geol Surv Mon. 32: 651–791.
^Wilf P. (2000). "Late Paleocene–early Eocene climate changes in southwestern Wyoming: Paleobotanical analysis". Geol Soc Am Bull. 112 (2): 292–307. Bibcode:2000GSAB..112..292W. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(2000)112<292:LPECCI>2.0.CO;2.