Safed Kachnar / White 'Orchid' Tree
Bauhinia acuminata
Also known as Dwarf White Bauhinia, Butterfly-Tree, Hawaiian Orchid Tree, Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Purple Camel's Foot, White Bauhinia, Kaa-Long, Snowy Orchid
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Bauhinia acuminata
- Genus
- Bauhinia
- Family
- Caesalpiniaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Planted
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Tropical southeast Asia
- Distribution
- India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, China, Brunei, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Thailand
- Found in India
- Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Haryana, Meghalaya, Puducherry, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (LC)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Bilobed (two leaflets, often butterfly-shaped)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Safed Kachnar itself; the rest are typical of the Caesalpiniaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
- Fruit type
- LegumerecordedA dry pod that splits open along two seams (typical of the pea/bean family).“The fruit is a pod 7.5 to 15 centimetres (3 to 6 in) long and 1.5 to 1.8 centimetres (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in) broad.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Raceme
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for Safed Kachnar itself; the rest are typical of the Caesalpiniaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- सफ़ेद कचनार Safed Kachnar,बहिनिया अकुमिनेटा bahiniya akumineta
- Bengali
- Shwetkanchan, শ্বেতকাঞ্চন
- Tamil
- வெள்ளை மந்தாரை Vellai mandaarai, மந்தாரை
- Telugu
- తెల్ల బంగారం చెట్టు
- Kannada
- ಬಿಳಿಮಂದಾರ Bili mandaara, ಬಿಳಿಕಂಚುವಾಳ Bili kanchuvaala
- Malayalam
- Mandaaram, വെള്ളമന്ദാരം, Bauhinia acuminata
Safed Kachnar in India
This flowering shrub, known as सफ़ेद कचनार Safed Kachnar (Hindi), வெள்ளை மந்தாரை Vellai mandaarai (Tamil), తెల్ల బంగారం చెట్టు (Telugu), ಬಿಳಿಮಂದಾರ Bili mandaara (Kannada), Mandaaram (Malayalam), Shwetkanchan (Bengali), is grown for its clusters of white, orchid-like flowers. Bauhinia acuminata is grown across Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, popular as a compact garden and hedge shrub.
Uses
It's grown almost entirely as an ornamental, valued for its abundant white flowers and compact size compared to other, larger flowering Bauhinia trees.
How to Identify Safed Kachnar
A compact shrub with the characteristic two-lobed, camel's-foot-shaped Bauhinia leaves. Flowers are pure white with five broad, slightly ruffled petals and prominent stamens, clustered at the branch tips, followed by long, flat pods.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is White 'Orchid' Tree called in different Indian languages?
- सफ़ेद कचनार Safed Kachnar (Hindi); வெள்ளை மந்தாரை Vellai mandaarai (Tamil); తెల్ల బంగారం చెట్టు (Telugu); ಬಿಳಿಮಂದಾರ Bili mandaara (Kannada); Mandaaram (Malayalam); Shwetkanchan (Bengali).
- How is it different from purple kachnar?
- It's a smaller, more compact shrub with pure white flowers, while purple kachnar (Bauhinia purpurea) and Bauhinia variegata grow into larger trees with pink-purple blooms.
- Why is it called an 'orchid tree'?
- Its broad-petalled flowers have a delicate, orchid-like appearance, though the plant is unrelated to true orchids.
Caesalpiniaceae
Senna family
Safed Kachnar belongs to the Caesalpiniaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Caesalpiniaceae
View all Caesalpiniaceae →Sources: GBIF — Bauhinia acuminata (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Bauhinia acuminata (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)