300 LEaUMlNOSM, [Bauhinia. 



in. long and 1-2 in. broad, flat, woody, clothed with dense ruaty- 

 coloured tomentum. Seeds 8-12, flat, about 1 in. in diam., brown. 



Pehra Dun and Saharanpur forests, Eohilkhand, N". Oudh and Bundel- 

 khand. Distrib. Outer Himalaya from the Ghenab to Assam, ascend- 

 ing to 4,000 ft., Chota Nagpur, and in C, W. and S. India. Flowers 

 April to June. Found abundantly in sal forests where it does 

 immense damage if allowed to have its way. Eoxburgh described it 

 as the largest and most extensive creeper he had ever seen, the branches 

 extending from one to three hundred feet. The bark yields a very 

 strong and coarse fibre, which is used locally by the natives for a 

 variety of purposes. The seeds and leaves are used medicinally, and 

 the seeds are also eaten as food after being roasted. Very serviceable 

 umbrellas are made of the strong tough leaves, which are also used as 

 plates, wrappers, etc. 



6. B. purpurea, Linn. Sp. PI. 675 ; Boxh.; Fl. Ind. ii, 820 ; W. ^ A. 

 Prod. 296 ; Boyle III. 184 ; Brand. For. Fl. 160 ; F. B. I. ii, 284 ; Watt E.D. 

 B. triandra, Boxb. ; Fl. Ind. ii, 320.— Y em. Khairwdl. 



A medium-sized tree with ash-coloured or brownish barli ; young parts 

 pubescent. Leaves 3-6 in. long, a little longer than broad, y-11-nerved, 

 slightly cordate at the base, subcoriaceous, glabrous ; lobes subacute, 

 reaching to about the middle, their inner edges often overlapping. 

 Floivers few, in terminal and axillary short-peduncled corymbose ra- 

 cemes ; hrads minute, deltoid. Galyx-tube \'^ in. ; limb twice as long, 

 coriaceous, usaally split into 2 segments, the lower one emarginate, the 

 other 3-toothfid. Petals deep rose-coloured, 1-2 m. long, clawed, gla- 

 brous. Fertile stamens 3 or 4, elongate, asceading. Ovary long-stalked, 

 grey- downy ; style long; stigma large, oblique. Pod 6-12 in. long, 

 linear, flat, rather decurved, pointed, greenish tinged with purple, gla- 

 brous, late in dehiscing. Seeds 12-15. 



Forests of Dehra and on the Siwalik range, Eohilkhand, NT. Oudh and 

 Bundelkhand. Distbib. Punjab Hills and outer Himalaya, up to 

 4,000 ft., Khasia Hills, Cent, and S. India ; also in China. It is culti- 

 vated in gardens throughout India. Flowers September-November. 

 The bark is used for dyeing and tanning, and from the inner portion a 

 fibre is prepared. The bark and leaves are medicinal. The flower-buds 

 (kalli) are eaten as a potherb or pickled, and the foliage is given to 

 cattle as fodder. 



7. B. variegata, J^^ww, -Sp. PI. 575 ; Eoxb. ; Fl. Ind. ii, 319 ; W. St A. 

 Prod. 296 ; Brand. For. Fl. 160 ; F. B. I. ii, 284 ; Watt E. D. B. Candida, 

 Boxb. ; Fl. Ind. ii, 318.—Vern. Kachndr. 



Very similar in habit to the preceding. Leaves rather broader than long, 

 4-6 in. across, usually deeply cordate, the obtuse lobes reaching i or | 

 of the way down, rigidly subcoriaceous, 9-11-nerved. Flowers few, large, 

 fragrant, arranged in lateral corymbs ; pedicels short or ; bracts 

 minute, deltoid. Calyx-tube |-1 in. long ; limb spathaceous, not split, 

 6-toothed, hairy outside. Petals about 2 in. long, usually four of them 

 white, and the upper one red and veined with purple, or all of them red 

 dish with the upper one more deeply coloured and variegated with* 



