Common name: Mountain Ebony
Botanical name: Bauhinia hookeri Family: Caesalpiniaceae (Gulmohar family) Synonyms: Lysiphyllum hookeri
Native to Australia, Mountain Ebony is a rounded shrub or small open tree,
up to 5m high, with an irregular habit. Leaves are silver to grey green,
held in small delicate pairs up to 2.5 cm across, looking just like
hundreds of butterfly wings. Plants are semi-deciduous with most leaves
falling immediately before flowering then replaced with the flowers.
Plants flower in spring to early summer and dot the canopy with large pure
white orchid-like five petal flowers up to 7 cm in diameter, with a number of
long spidery brilliant red stamens protruding out.
Identification credit: Ajinkya Gadave
| Photographed in Maharashtra. |
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