Botanical Name - Bauhinia vahlii

----- B. Vahlii, W. & A. ; F.B.I., II-279. Brandi's Ind. Trees, 258. Gamble's Ind. Timbers, 283. Vern. Adda tiga, Parkay tiga, Parut tiga, Tel. ; also Parutakula tiga, Tel.

----- A gigantic climbing evergreen tree. Bark brown horizontally waved, stem often much fluted. Branchlets densely pubescent and terminating in a pair of revolute tendrils ; young branches, tendrils, petioles, underside of leaves especially along the nerves and inflorescence clothed with dense ferruginous tomentum. Leaves very variable in size, often up to 18 in. diam., as broad as long or broader, deeply cordate, 11-15 nerved, cleft through about 1/3 of the length, sub-coriaceous, dark green and glabrescent above more or less downy beneath; lobes obtuse, rounded; petiole 3-6 in. long, stout. Flowers white, on long slender pedicles, in terminal corymbose or corymbose racemes. Calyx-tube slender, 1/4-1/3 in., shorter than the 2-lobed limb. Petals densely hairy, 1-1 1/2 in. long obovate with a short claw. Stamens 3. Ovary hairy, with a short stalk, long style and minute stigma. Pod 9-12 by 2-3 in. flat, woody, rusty-velvety. Seeds 8-12, about 1 in diam flat.

----- Tolerably common in the damper parts of the Telangana forests. Fortunately it does not spread for beyond the localities where it is found. It is the largest of the climbing plants of the forests, and attains a size 3-4 ft. in girth and 100 ft. long. The wood of the stem is porous, in broad irregularly broken, but concentrically arranged masses with a palmate outline, alternating with red, juicy bast tissue surrounding the pith, which is in the shape of a cross, together presenting a beautiful floral design on a transverse section. The large leaves are used for making plates for eating from, rough umbrellas, etc. The bark yields a rough fibre and the seeds are roasted and eaten. Flowers in the March and April, Fruit in the cold season.