Greening - Tree Labels with QR Codes (17)

Camel's Foot Tree

Scientific Name : Bauhinia variegata L.
Common Name : Camel's Foot Tree
Chinese Name : 宮粉羊蹄甲, 洋紫荊, 羊蹄甲, 彎葉樹
Family : CAESALPINIACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species

Anecdotes on plants

Origins	South China, native to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. Also distributed in Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and India.
Applications	Camel's Foot Tree blossoms with gorgeous flowers and a light fragrance. In full blossom, the whole tree is crowded with flowers which dye the tree crown pink. Creating a fascinating and appealing scenery, Camel's Foot Tree is a popular option for street tree and gardening. The species is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. Furthermore, as reported in Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae, its flower buds, young leaves and young fruits are edible, while water decoction of its root bark can cure indigestion.
Relationship with Hong Kong	Camel's Foot Tree is the male parent of our City Flower Hong Kong Orchid Tree (Bauhinia x blakeana Dunn), proved by evidence from molecular biology in recent years. It is noteworthy that different individuals of Camel’s Foot Tree give flowers in a gradient of colour.

Traits for identification

Growing habit	Deciduous Tree.
Height	To 15 m.
Stems	Bark of trunk dark brownish, relatively smooth. Branches spreading, crooked in zigzag shape.
Leaves	Subleathery, broadly ovate to suborbicular in outline, base cordate to truncate, shallowly bilobed at the apex. Apex of lobes obtuse or comparatively pointed. Shaped like sheep hoof.
Flowers	Petals 5, subequal, obovate to oblanceolate, violet or paler. The upper petal is comparatively broader with conspicuous dark purple and yellowish green stripes. Usually flowering prior to leaf emergence.
Fruits	Legume, blackish brown when mature, strap-shaped, flattened.
Flowering period	March in Hong Kong.
Fruiting period	April in Hong Kong.

Overview of <em>Bauhinia variegata</em> L.

Petals 5, the upper petal is marked with conspicuous dark purple streaks. Petals darker violet for this individual.

An individual with petals in paler violet, nearly whitish pink. The upper petal is marked with conspicuous dark purple and yellowish green streaks.

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Remarks

Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=8337
Scientific names from other databases
― Flora of China : Bauhinia variegata Linnaeus
― Plants of the World Online : Bauhinia variegata L.

Reference

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD). (2018). A Photographic Guide to Common Urban Trees of Hong Kong. 3^rd edition. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Hong Kong. ISBN: 978-988-12021-3-0.
eFloras. (2008). Bauhinia variegata Linnaeus. Flora of China. [Online Edition]. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 26^th March 2020, from: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200011962
Hong Kong Herbarium, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department & South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (2007-2011). Bauhinia variegata L.宮粉羊蹄甲. Flora of Hong Kong. [Online Edition]. Retrieved 26^th March 2020, from: https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/FloraOfHK/Species/8337/8337_S_E.pdf
Jim, C. Y. (2006). Bauhinia Trees: from Obscurity to Celebrity. Chan, W. C. [Chinese Translation]. Cosmos Bookstore Ltd. & Friends of the Country Parks, Hong Kong. ISBN 988-211-328-1.
Lau, C. P. Y., Ramsden, L. & Saunders, R. M. K. (2005). Hybrid origin of "Bauhinia blakeana" (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), inferred using morphological, reproductive, and molecular data. American Journal of Botany, 92(3), 525-33. [doi: 10.3732/ajb.92.3.525]. Retrieved 3^rd March 2020, from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51201005_Hybrid_origin_of_Bauhinia_blakeana_Leguminosae_Caesalpinioideae_inferred_using_morphological_reproductive_and_molecular_data
Mak, C. Y., Cheung, K. S., Yip, P. Y. & Kwan, H. S. (2008). Molecular Evidence for the Hybrid Origin of Bauhinia blakeana (Caesalpinioideae). Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, 50(1), 111-118. Retrieved 3^rd March 2020, from: http://www.jipb.net/EN/10.1111/j.1744-7909.2007.00591.x
Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium. (2020). Bauhinia variegata L. 宮粉羊蹄甲. Factsheet. Taxonomical Archive System. Wu Jieh Yee Charitable Foundation Native Plant Resources and Database in Hong Kong. Retrieved 26^th March 2020, from: https://syhuherbarium.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/collections/factsheet/bauhinia-variegata/
Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium. (2020). Bauhinia variegata L. 宮粉羊蹄甲. Pro-Factsheet. Taxonomical Archieve System. Wu Jieh Yee Charitable Foundation Native Plant Resources and Database in Hong Kong. Retrieved 26^th March 2020, from: https://syhuherbarium.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/collections/factsheet-pro/bauhinia-variegata/
中國科學院植物誌編輯委員會。（1959-2004）。〈洋紫荊Bauhinia variegata Linn.〉。《中國植物誌》。[網上版本]。於2020年3月26日擷取自 : http://www.iplant.cn/info/Bauhinia%20variegata?t=z
深圳市人民政府城市管理辦公室、深圳市仙湖植物園、深圳市城市管理科學研究所。（1998）。《深圳園林植物》。北京 : 中國林業出版社。國際標準書號 : 978-7-5038-2149-3。