Author: Ridley
Morphological description (see also description of Genus Bauhinia ; Subgenus Phanera and Section Palmatifolia )
(cuprea Bauh Reinw f22 )
Tendrilled climber; tendrils and young branches coppery tomentose, later glabrescent.
Leaves: stipules obliquely ovate, c. 5 mm, puberulous on both sides; petiole slender, glabrescent, up to 4 cm; lamina coriaceous, broadly ovate, 4-8 cm broad; apex entire or bifid, lobes deltoid, 0.5-2 cm long; base cordate; nerves 7(-9); upper surface subglabrous, lower closely appressed coppery silky.
Inflorescence lateral and terminal, reddish puberulous corymbs or panicles; pedicels slender, up to 6 cm; bracts and bracteoles early caducous.
Flowers: Buds subglobose, pubescent, pointed. Hypanthium tubular, 2-2.5 cm long, striate. Calyx splitting into 2-3 reflexed lobes, c. 8 mm long. Petals red (or yellow turning red ?), subequal, 2-2.5 cm long, elliptic ovate, with crenulate margin, coppery pubescent outside. Stamens 3 fertile; filaments reddish hairy, c. 3 mm; anthers c. 2 mm, opening by a central pore in each theca; staminodes usually 4. Ovary shortly stipitate, densely pubescent; style similarly hairy, c. 5 mm; stigma large, peltate.
Pods unknown.
Distribution
Malesia: Malay Peninsula (Perak, Gunong Keladang).
Note
The only specimen mentioned in the protologue is Ridley 96901. This has not been found neither by de Wit nor by us. De Wit indicated Ridley 9670 as `lectotype' but as it is not mentioned in the protologue it is correctly a neotype. Larsen & Larsen (1996: 512) have not seen this specimen either. Two specimens collected by Ridley are in the type cover in K: one from the type locality, nr. 9669, collected in 1896, the other s. n., collected in 1914. Whether these belong to B. cuprea has still to be studied, but they are close to B. bidentata.