Volume 4 > Part 1 > Year 1984 > Page 33 > Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae > Bauhinia

27. Bauhinia pulla Craibwfo-0000199575

Kew Bull. 1927: 390; in Fl. Siam. En. 1: 526. 1928 K.Larsen & S.S.Larsen, Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 25: 15. 1973; in Fl. C.L.V. 18: 193. 1980. Fig. 5: 13–14. Plate II, 1.

Accepted Name : Lasiobema pullum (Craib) A.Schmitz
Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 110(1-2): 13. 1977.

Description : Low, tendrilled climber, up to 5 m; young branches, grayish pubescent later glabrescent. Leaves ovate, up to 15 by 14 cm, 9–11-nerved, bifid to ½–⅔ with rather narrow sinus, tip of lobes acute, rarely obtuse; base deeply cordate; upper surface glossy, glabrous, lower glabrous to pubescent. Stipules falcate, ca 5 mm long. Petioles glabrescent, 2–4 cm. Racemes lateral and terminal, dense, pyramidal, up to 20 cm long. Pedicels pubescent, up to 1 cm. Bracts subulate, with broad triangular base, ca 1 cm long, surpassing the young buds; bracteoles linear, ca 5 mm long, inserted near the middle of the pedicel. Buds subglobose, silvery hairy, 8–10 mm long; receptacle indistinct. Calyx cup-shaped, not covering the. Corolla in bud, splitting during anthesis into 5 triangular segments. Petals greenish, hairy outside, narrowly ovate, with crenulate margins, ca 15 nim long including the ca 5 mm long claw, Stamens 3 fertile, filaments longer than the petals; anthers narrow, ca 3 mm long; staminodes 7, minute, subulate. Disc corrugated glabrous. Ovary velvety, ca 1 cm long on a 3–5 mm long stipe; style velvety, 5 mm; stigma inconspicuous. Pods dehiscent, woody-valved, flat, velvety, strap-shaped, up to 30 by 3.5 cm with a short straight beak. Seeds 10–20, flat, glossy, rectangular-orbicular, 10–15 mm diam.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Kamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan (Takhli); EASTERN: Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima; CENTRAL: Lop Buri, Saraburi (type: Kerr 9155 -K); SOUTH-EASTERN: Chanthaburi (Pong Nam Ron); SQUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi (Sai Yok, Si Sawat, Ratchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin, Huai Yang, Nong Kae, Sam Roi Yot).

Distribution : Cambodia.

Ecology : Margin of forests, along wayside, common in thorny scrub and savannas. The species is particularly common on the drier areas, e.g. the Korat plateau.

Vernacular : Salaeng phan thao (แสลงพันเถา); kalong (กาหลง)(Northern); salaeng phan (แสลงพัน)(Eastern).

Notes: There is a wide and continuous range of hairiness in the vegetative parts, from totally glabrous leaves to leaves pubescent on the lower side even in the mature state. The latter is normal in plants from the driest areas; we regard it as an ecotype, and do not treat it taxonomically; a similar variation is observed with regard to the hairiness of the twigs.