Saint Thomas Tree

Scientific Name :

Bauhinia tomentosa L.

Synonym(s) :

Pauletia tomentosa (L.) A.Schmitz

Local/Common name(s) :

Manja-mandaram, Saint Thomas Tree

Family :

Fabaceae

Habit :

Tree

Flowering/Fruiting Time :

September-May

Habitat :

Cultivated as ornamental plant

Endemic :

No

Status (IUCN) :

Least Concern (LC)

Distribution :

Native of South East Asia

Nativity :

Exotic

Uses :

Medicine

Description (Morphology) :

A shrub or a small tree. Leaves petiolate, petiole 2.5 cm long, stipule c. 3-5 mm long, lamina 2.5-5 cm long, 4.5-6.5 cm broad, bilobed, lobes rounded at apex, 7-9 nerved at the base, glabrous above, hairy below. Flowers axillary in pairs, sometimes 1-3, each on a pedicel bearing a pair of subulate persistent bracteoles. Bracteole c. 3 mm long. Calyx c. 1.3-1.4 cm long, with 2 teeth at the apex in bud, splitting down on one side when the flower opens. Petals 5, c. 1.8-5 cm long, obovate, not clawed, yellow, conspicuously veined, one with a red blotch on the inner surface. Stamens 10. Ovary stipitate; style c. 1.8-1.9 cm long. Pods dehiscent, 6-10 seeded; stipe 10-12.5 cm long, tomentose or glabrous.