Bauhinia racemosa

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Bauhinia racemosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Bauhinia
Species: B. racemosa
Binomial name
Bauhinia racemosa
Lam.

Bauhinia racemosa, commonly known as the Bidi Leaf Tree (Hindi: कठमूली / झिंझेरी, Marathi: अपटा / सोना / श्वेत-कांचन, Tamil: ஆத்தி atti / தாதகி tataki, Malayalam: അരംപാലി arampaali / കുടബുളി kutabuli / മലയത്തി malayaththi, Telugu: తెల్ల ఆరెచెట్టు tella arecettu, Kannada: ಅಪ್ತಾ / ಅರಳುಕದುಮನ್ದರ, Bengali: banraji, banraj, Konkani: आप्टो apto, Urdu: Gul-e-anehnal‎ and Sanskrit: यमलपत्रक / युग्मपत्र), is a rare medicinal species of flowering shrub with religious significance. It is a small crooked tree with drooping branches that grows 3–5 metres (10–16 ft) tall and flowers between February and May. It is native to tropical Southeast Asia.

Religious Significance

In Maharashtrian families it is customary to exchange leaves of the Aapta tree on the Hindu festive day of Dussehra. An act known as exchanging Gold - pointing to the special significance of the plant on that particular day. This is also why the tree is often referred to as Sonpatta (literal translation Leaves of Gold).[1]

Other uses

Main article: Beedi

The leaves are used in the production of beedi, a thin Indian cigarette.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Phalak, Paresh Prashant. "The Real Gold". Retrieved 25 October 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Bidi Leaf Tree". Flowers of India. 

See also

External links

Media related to Bauhinia racemosa at Wikimedia Commons


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