Author: Merr.
Morphological description (see also description of Genus Bauhinia ; Subgenus Phanera and Section Palmatifolia )
Large, tendrilled climber , up to 30 m; young shoots appressed hairy, later glabrous.
Leaves entire, glabrous on upper surface, puberulous on the nerves below; stipules early caducous (not seen); petioles pubescent, 0.5-5 cm; lamina ovate-oblong to elliptic, chartaceous, 5-12 by 3-6 cm; base obtuse to truncate, apex acute to acuminate, rarely shortly bifid or slightly emarginate with a l-2 mm mucro; nerves 5-7, the two innermost close to and almost parallel with the midnerve (havilandii Bauhinia lvs+bu FM17).
Inflorescence lateral and terminal, many-flowered racemes up to 5 cm long; axis and pedicels brownish appressed pubescent; pedicels filiform, 1.5-2.5 cm; bracts linear, 4-5 mm; bracteoles slightly smaller, inserted about or above the middle of the pedicel.
Flowers: Buds fusiform, 4-5 mm, greyish pubescent. Hypanthium turbinate, 1-2 mm. Calyx splitting into 2-3 reflexed segments, c. 5 mm. Petals white or greenish white, subequal, 6-8 mm long, obovate-oblong to spathulate, with a short claw, outside light brown sericeous in median zone; margin crenulate-undulate. Fertile stamens 3; filaments filiform, glabrous, c. 6-8 mm; anthers broadly ellipsoid, c. 1.5-2 mm long, opening by a central, ellipsoid pore; staminodes 1-2, minute. Ovary shortly stipitate, densely light brown sericeous, 4-5 mm; style finally as long as ovary, pubescent in lower part, glabrous towards the capitate stigma.
Pods woody valved with short velvety hairs, 20 by 6 cm.
Seeds c. 3 (no ripe seeds seen).
Distribution
Malesia: Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, E Kalimantan).
Habitat
In primary forests at low altitudes.
Vernacular name
Sendok-sendok (Sandakan).
Notes
1. In a single specimen from Sabah, Villamil 352, some leaves are almost orbicular, c. 10.5 cm diameter.
2. The shape of the anthers deviates from other members of the section as the thecae are basically acute, furthermore the pore opening is more elongate. Perhaps for this reason de Wit, (1956: 486), placed Bauhinia havilandii as synonym under Bauhinia glabrifolia . Larsen & Larsen (1996: 521) are sure that these two species are not related, and that B. havilandii is better placed in section Palmatifolia.