Bauhinia tomentosa
Flowers of yellow bauhinia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Bauhinia
Species:
B. tomentosa
Binomial name
Bauhinia tomentosa
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
yellow bell orchid tree leaves
Yellow bauhinia

Bauhinia tomentosa, also known as yellow bauhinia[2] or yellow bell orchid tree, is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae. It is found in South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tropical Africa, India, and Sri Lanka.[3]

Description

Yellow bauhinia is a small tree with a maximum height of 4 m (13 ft).[4] It has drooping slender branches with multiple scrambling stems. The bark is greyish, smooth, and sometimes hairy, which gives its specific name tomentosa. Greenish leaves are deeply divided and elliptic in nature; margin entire. Flowers are bell-shaped with large, yellow petals with a dark maroon patch at the base. The fruit is a pale-brown pod.[5] Extracts of the plant's roots have in vitro antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "Bauhinia tomentosa L. — The Plant List". www.theplantlist.org.
  2. ^ "PlantFiles: Yellow Bauhinia, Yellow Bell Orchid Tree". Dave's Garden. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  3. ^ "Bauhinia tomentosa | PlantZAfrica.com". www.plantzafrica.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-10. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
  4. ^ "Bauhinia tomentosa, Yellow Bauhinia, Shrub". Plant Information. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  5. ^ "Bauhinia tomentosa" (PDF). worldagroforestry.org.
  6. ^ Dugasani, S; Balijepalli, MK; Tandra, S; Pichika, MR (2010). "Antimicrobial activity of Bauhinia tomentosa and Bauhinia vahlii roots". Pharmacogn Mag. 6 (23): 204–7. doi:10.4103/0973-1296.66937. PMC 2950383. PMID 20931080.
  7. ^ 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 (2): 157–68. doi:10.1515/jbcpp.2010.21.2.157. PMID 20853598. S2CID 88090375.


Categories