Bauhinia havilandii
Content
Description
Large, tendrilled climber, up to 30 m; young shoots appressed hairy, later glabrous.
Leaves entire, glabrous on upper surface, puberulous on the nerves below; stipules early caducous (not seen); petioles pubescent, 0.5-5 cm; lamina ovate-oblong to elliptic, chartaceous, 5-12 by 3-6 cm; base obtuse to truncate, apex acute to acuminate, rarely shortly bifid or slightly emarginate with a 1-2 mm mucro; nerves 5-7, the two innermost close to and almost parallel with the midnerve.
Inflorescences lateral and terminal, many-flowered racemes up to 5 cm long; axis and pedicels brownish appressed pubescent; pedicels filiform, 1.5-2.5 cm; bracts linear, 4-5 mm; bracteoles slightly smaller, inserted about or above the middle of the pedicel.
Petals white or greenish white, subequal, 6-8 mm long, obovate-oblong to spathulate, with a short claw, outside light brown sericeous in median zone; margin crenulate-undulate.
Fertile stamens 3; filaments filiform, glabrous, c. 6-8 mm; anthers broadly ellipsoid, c. 1.5-2 mm long, opening by a central, ellipsoid pore; staminodes 1 or 2, minute.
Ovary shortly stipitate, densely light brown sericeous, 4-5 mm; style finally as long as ovary, pubescent in lower part, glabrous towards the capitate stigma.
Seeds c. 3 (no ripe seeds seen).
Distribution
Asia-Tropical: Borneo (Sabah present, Sarawak present), E Kalimantan present
Malesia: Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, E Kalimantan).
Taxonomy
The shape of the anthers deviates from other members of the section as the thecae are basically acute, furthermore the pore opening is more elongate. Perhaps for this reason , placed Bauhinia havilandii as synonym under B. glabrifolia. We are sure that these two species are not related, and that B. havilandii is better placed in section Palmatifolia.
In a single specimen from Sabah, Villamil 352, some leaves are almost orbicular, c. 10.5 cm diam.