Botanical Name - Bauhinia retusa

----- B. retusa, Ham. ; F.B.I., II-279. Brandi's Ind. Trees, 257. Gamble's Ind. Timbers, 282. Vern. Nirpa, Tel.

----- A moderate-sized deciduous tree. Bark dark-brown with vertical cracks. Leaves 4-6 in. diam., rather broader than long, entire of cleft only at the tip, cordate or truncate, 9-11-nerved , coriaceous, more or less pubescent beneath. Flowers 1/2 in. long in large corymbosely branched terminal panicle; sometimes a foot long and broad. Calyx-tube scarcely any ; limb 1/6 in. long, irregularly cleft. Petals 1/3-in. long, clawed, obovate, yellow, with red spots and purple veins, pubescent, with narrow base ; perfect stamens 3. Pod 4-7 by 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 in. ; flat, oblanceolate, deep-red, until ripe glabrous, hard, tardily dehiscent. Seeds flat, about 1/2 in. diam., dark-brown, smooth.

----- Very rarely met with in forests, sometimes cultivated as it is a pretty ornamental tree. It is easily recognized by the very shallow cleft to the leaves, the red broad pods and the striped petals of the rather small flowers. The wood is hard and close-grained, of a redish colour with irregular dark red or black patches and streaks near the centre. It weighs 58 lbs. per c. ft. Gamble says, " The tree is work in Dehra Dun and the adjoining regions for its gum, which is clear, resembling gum-arabic, but is so useful as it is only imperfectly soluble in water." It is used in medicine and in the manufacture of native sweetmeats. Flowers shortly after the rains and Fruit in the cold weather.