Bauhinia acuminata

{{Speciesbox

|image = Bauhinia acuminata 31 08 2012 (1).jpg

|image_caption = Flower in Bardhaman, West Bengal, India

|status = LC

|status_system = IUCN3.1

|status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Chadburn, H. |year=2020 |title=Bauhinia acuminata |page=e.T19893060A175309746 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T19893060A175309746.en |access-date=27 June 2025}}

|genus = Bauhinia

|species = acuminata

|authority = L.

}}

Bauhinia acuminata is a species of flowering shrub native to tropical southeastern Asia. Common names include dwarf white bauhinia, white orchid-tree and snowy orchid-tree.Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk: [http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/bauhinia_acuminata.htm Bauhinia acuminata] The exact native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but probably from Malaysia, Indonesia (Java, Borneo, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands), and the Philippines.{{GRIN | access-date = 16 January 2018}}

It grows two to three meters tall. Like the other Bauhinia species, the leaves are bilobed, shaped like an ox hoof; they are {{convert|6|to|15|cm|in|frac=4}} long and broad, with the apical cleft up to {{convert|5|cm|in|0}} deep; the petiole is {{convert|1.5|to|4|cm|in|frac=4}} long. The flowers are fragrant, {{convert|8|to|12|cm|in|frac=4}} in diameter, with five white petals, ten yellow-tipped stamens and a green stigma. The fruit is a pod {{convert|7.5|to|15|cm|in|frac=4}} long and {{convert|1.5|to|1.8|cm|in|frac=4}} broad. The species occurs in deciduous forests and scrub.Flowers of India: [http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/White%20Orchid%20Tree.html White Orchid Tree]Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}.

It is widely cultivated throughout the tropics as an ornamental plant. It may be found as an escape from cultivation in some areas, and has become naturalised on the Cape York Peninsula, Australia.

The plant has a number of ethnobotanical uses around the world. The roots are used by the Javanese to treat cough and cold and in India the leaves and bark are used to treat asthma.{{Cite web|title=NParks {{!}} Bauhinia acuminata|url=https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/3/6/3605|access-date=2022-02-14|website=www.nparks.gov.sg}} It is also used in many culinary dishes of Odisha