Author: Desv.
Morphological description (see also description of Genus Bauhinia and Subgenus Bauhinia )
Shrub up to 4 m. Young branches slender, glabrous or (less common) patently hirsute.
Leaves: stipules from setiform to triangular, puberulous, 2-3 mm; intrastipular spines often well-developed into curved thorns, 2-3 mm; petiole more or less pubescent, 2-5 cm; lamina ovate, sometimes broader than long, 6-15 cm diameter; 7-11-nerved; bifid 1/3 - 2/3, usually with broad sinus; tip of lobes obtuse or acute, base truncate to cordate; upper surface glabrous, lower glabrescent or shortly pubescent particularly on the nerves.
Inflorescence : lateral and terminal narrow racemes, 5-15 cm; pedicels glabrous, 2-3 mm; bracts ovate, acute, 2-5 mm; bracteoles minute, inserted near the base of the pedicel (viridescens Bauh infl/lf 386310 ).
Flowers: Buds ellipsoid to fusiform (varying according to presence or absence of ovary), glabrous, 6-10 mm. Hypanthium very short, turbinate, c. 1 mm. Calyx splitting spathaceously during anthesis. Petals greenish-white, obovate to lanceolate, 7-12 mm; claw short. Male flowers: stamens 10 fertile, shorter than petals, the 5 outer the longest; filaments hairy at the base; anthers oblong, 1-2 mm, opening by a longitudinal slit. Female flowers: reduced stamens 10, unequal; ovary shortly stipitate, 6-8 mm, pubescent; style very short; stigma peltate (viridescens Bauh compl FT3 ).
Pollen: viridescens Bauhinia pol 386311
Pods dehiscent, flat, short-beaked, strap-shaped, pubescent when young, 5-7 by 0.7-1 cm.
Seeds 6-10, compressed, orbicular, 3-4 mm diameter.
Distribution
Monsoon area of Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. South of equator found under similar conditions in Malesia: Timor and Wetar (Lesser Sunda Islands).
Habitat
Lower altitudes in dry deciduous forests often in scrub and among bamboo; found on various soil-types.
Vernacular names
Ai-kaki, Kaki-en (Ilwaki).
Note
Bauhinia viridescens is a very variable species particularly concerning leaf-size and indumentum. The Malesian material from Timor and Wetar belongs to var. viridescens.