Bauhinia Purpurea
Family : Leguminosae- Caesalpiniodeae
Common Name : Purple orchid tree
English Name : Butterfly tree, Pink butterfly tree, Purple bauhinia
Hindi Name : Kaniar, Kewlar
Telugu Name : Peddari, Yepa
Bengali Name : Koiral
Tree Characteristics :
The Purple Orchid Tree is an exotic tropical tree that blooms over a long period of time. The beautiful & fragrant, classic, Orchid-like flowers of Bauhinia purpurea makes this small tree, native to India, a favourite of many plant lovers. In fall, before the leaves drop, Orchid-Tree is festooned with many showy and delightfully fragrant, five-inch-wide blossoms, the narrow purple, pink, and lavender petals arranged to closely resemble an orchid. These flowers appear on the trees from September through November and are a beautiful sight to see, creating a vivid splash of color in the autumn landscape. Curiously, the flower colors varies quite a lot.
Nursery Practice :
Seeds are sown in bigger polybags in April to May and regularly watered. Seedling appear in about 10 days and are planted out during July to August. No.of seeds per kg is 4000 and the Germination percentageis 83 to 100. Germination period is 900 to 2700 days.
Economic Uses :
- Used as fuelwood; its calorific value is 4 800 kcal/kg.
- It is good fodder
- The wood is used for agricultural implements.
- The bark of bauhinia is used to make rope and stems of smaller lianescent species are used for binding. Some bauhinia species are used for binding.
