| DESCRIPTION: It is usually a rambling, many-stemmed shrub or small tree reaching 4-8 m in height, the branches often drooping. Bark grey and smooth. Leaves deeply divided for almost half their length, with a small apical appendage between the lobes; each lobe is oval to almost elliptic, most often small about 2.5 x 2.5 cm, but may be up to 8 cm, pale fresh green. Flowers bell-shaped, up to 7 cm long, beautiful and distinctive. USE: Leaves are used to manufacture a yellow dye. The dried leaf, flower bud, seed and bark are used medicinally. Th root bark is used internally for conditions of the large intestine, while the flower is used as a remedy for dysentery and diarrhoea. The fruit is said to be diuretic, and the seed is eaten in India as a tonic and aphrodisiac. A decoction of the root bark is used as a vermifuge, and an infusion made from the stem bark is used as an astringent gargle. An infusion of the root bark is used as an external application to inflamed glands, abscesses and skin conditions, while the fruit is said to be diuretic and an infusion of the rind is used as an astringent gargle. It makes a good hedge plant and a non aggressive ornamnetal. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: bell bauhinia, hairy bauhunia, orchid tree, St. Thomas tree, yellow tree bauhinia (English). FURTHER INF: It can be found from South Africa, northwards to tropical Africa and Ethiopia and eastwards to Sri Lanka and India. In South Africa, it grows in forest, bushland and the coastal dune bush. It also occurs in low-altitude woodland, often forming part of the riverine thickets, and on the forest edges. In Zambia, it grows in thickets and on stream banks and rocky slopes of the central and southern provinces and the Luangwa Valley. Trees grow in the shade or in full sun, can withstand light frost and are somewhat drought hardy. |
