Bauhinia stipularis Korth. var. stipularis
Morphological description
Large, tendrilled climber ; young branches rusty tomentose, soon glabrescent.
Leaves: stipules suborbicular to reniform, 4-6 mm diameter, pubescent outside; petiole 3-5 cm, slender, glabrescent; lamina suborbicular, 6-7 cm diameter, 9-11-nerved, bifid 1/4 - 1/3 with wide sinus; tip of lobes acute-subacute, rarely obtuse, base cordate; upper surface glabrous, lower thinly pubescent.
Inflorescence terminal, corymbose on short, leafy shoots; pedicels slender, 3-4(-5) cm long, striate, pubescent; bracts narrowly triangular, with long acute apex, 4-5 mm; bracteoles shorter, linear.
Flowers: Buds clavate-ellipsoid, apiculate, brownish tomentose to nearly glabrous, 15-20 mm long. Hypanthium tubular, 6-10 mm, striate, somewhat dilated at base. Calyx splitting into 5 reflexed, strap-shaped sepals, glabrous inside. Petals white turning yellowish, almost equal, outside sparsely pilose along the middle zone, inside hairy along the midrib to nearly glabrous, blade oblong with acute apex, some of them with auriculate base, 15-25 by 8-12 mm, claw distinct, 5-7 mm. Stamens 3 fertile; filaments pale red, glabrous, 20-30 mm; anthers 6-8 mm; staminodes 2, filiform, 7-12 mm. Ovary c. 5 mm, brownish silky pubescent, on an equally long, silky pubescent stipe; style glabrous, c. 15 mm long; stigma capitate, 1.5-2 mm diameter.
Pods oblong, glabrous, woody, brown, c. 15 by 4 cm.
Seeds 4-5, flat, suborbicular, 10-15 mm diameter.
Distribution
Nicobar Islands; Malesia: Sumatra and islands W of the Malay Peninsula; not recorded from the mainland.
Habitat
From the lowland up to 1700 m alt. on Sumatra (Mt Kerinci), also collected along mangrove swamp.
Vernacular names
Selaun (Sumatra, Westc.), Akar katut katut (Sumatra).
Note
It is characteristic for this and the related species Bauhinia lingua that well developed stipules occur under the inflorescence, they could be mistaken as bracts. We have studied the recently described B. nicobarica and found that it in no ways differ from B. stipularis . The type was collected in the same area as B. albolutea (Miq.) Prain.