Common name: Maloo Creeper • Assamese: Nak kati lewa • Bengali: Chehur lata, Shimool • Hindi: मालू Malu, Jallaur, Jallur, Mahul • Kannada: Chambolli • Malayalam: Mottanvalli • Marathi: चम्बुली Chambuli • Nepali: भोर्ला Bhorla • Oriya: Siyali • Sanskrit: Asmantaka, Malanjhana • Tamil: Mandarai, Adda, Kattumandarai • Telugu: Madapu, Adattige
Botanical name: Bauhinia vahlii Family: Caesalpiniaceae (Gulmohar family) Synonyms: Bauhinia racemosa, Phanera vahlii
Maloo Creeper is the largest creeper in India, and can grow up to 10-30 m
long. The woody stem can get as thick as 20 cm. The spreading stout
branches are covered with rusty fine hair. The stout tendrils are coiling
and occur in pairs. Large leaves are 10-45 cm, 2-lobed with a broad cut.
The white flowers, 2-3 cm across, turn yellow when old. The flowers are
borne in rounded clusters. They have has 3 fertile stamens and 7
staminodes. Fruit is a flat woody pod with fine rusty hairs, 20-30 cm
long. Maloo Creeper is found in the Himalayas, from Kashmir to Sikkim,
up to altitudes of 1500 m. It is considered to be a formidable enemy of trees.
Flowering: April-June.
Identification credit: Pravin Kawale
| Photographed in Lal Bagh Botanical Garden, Bangalore. |
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