Bauhinia tomentosa

Yellow bauhinia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Bauhinia
Species: B. tomentosa
Binomial name
Bauhinia tomentosa
L.
Synonyms[1]
  • Alvesia bauhinioides Welw.
  • Alvesia tomentosa (L.) Britton & Rose
  • Bauhinia pubescens DC.
  • Bauhinia tomentosa var. glabrata Hook. f.
  • Bauhinia volkensii Taub.
  • Bauhinia wituensis Harms
  • Pauletia tomentosa (L.) A.Schmitz

Bauhinia tomentosa, the yellow bauhinia[2] or yellow bell orchid tree, is a species of legume in the Fabaceae family. It is found only in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, India and Sri Lanka.[3] The plant is known to have antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria.[4][5]

Description

Yellow bauhinia is a small tree with a maximum height of 4m.[6] It has drooping slender branches with a scrambling stem usually is multi-stemmed. Greyish bark is smooth and sometimes hairy, which gives its specific name tomentosa. Greenish leaves are deeply divided and elliptic in nature; margin entire. Flowers bell-shaped with large, yellow petals with a dark maroon patch at the base. Fruit pale-brown is a pod.[7]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/ild-833
  2. ↑ http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2066/
  3. ↑ http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/bauhintoment.htm
  4. ↑ Dugasani, S; Balijepalli, MK; Tandra, S; Pichika, MR (2010). "Antimicrobial activity of Bauhinia tomentosa and Bauhinia vahlii roots". Pharmacogn Mag. 6: 204–7. doi:10.4103/0973-1296.66937. PMC 2950383Freely accessible. PMID 20931080.
  5. ↑ Kannan, N; Renitta, RE; Guruvayoorappan, C (2010). "Bauhinia tomentosa stimulates the immune system and scavenges free radical generation in vitro". J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 21: 157–68. doi:10.1515/jbcpp.2010.21.2.157. PMID 20853598.
  6. ↑ http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=3452
  7. ↑ http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Bauhinia_tomentosa.PDF


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