Buddhist Bauhinia, Orchid Tree, Mountain Ebony
It grows throughout India, ascending to an altitude
of 1,300 m in the Himalayas.
Morphology Description (Habit)
B.variegata is a medium-sized, deciduous tree.
The bark is gray; the leaves are sub- coriaceous and deeply
cordate; the flowers are variously coloured and occur in
few- flowered, lateral corymbs; the pods are long, hard,
flat, glabrous, dehiscent and 10-15 seeded.
The seeds yield a fatty oil, the bark yields fibre. Five
flavonoids isolated from the different organs of B.variegata
were identified as quercetin, rutin, quercetrin, apigenin
and apigenin 7-O-glucoside1.
The alcoholic extract of the stem bark showed CNS activity.
Besides producing hypothermia in mice, it also responded to
amphetamine hyperactivity test2.
The bark is astringent, tonic and anthelmintic. It is useful
in scrofula and skin diseases. It is also used for ulcers
and leprosy. A decoction of the bark is taken for dysentery.
The dried buds are used for diarrhea, dysentery and
- El-Wahab, A et. al., Herba Hung., 1987, 26(1), 27-39.
- Bhakuni et. al., Ind. J. s Biol., 1969, 6,232.