Nature Diary
The Camel's foot tree

Its formal name is Bauhinia purpurea. It is native to South East Asia and South China.  Apart from the name camel's foot tree, it is also called butterfly tree or Hawaiian orchid. In Tamil Nadu it is called Mandaarai.
It is a deciduous tree, not very tall, growing to about 5 m or so. It has long leaves, upto 20 cm long. They are very broad, rounded and have two lobes at both the base and the apex, giving each leaf the appearance of a double-lobed kidney.
It has very pink, small flowers (see the cover photo) with five petals, which are not only very pretty but also fragrant.  A local variety, it will be in full bloom in December, so go out and look for it now! Soon long pods (about 30 cm long) of the fruit will appear, each containing 12 to 16 seeds.
Its well-shaped leaves are very convenient for making "dhonnai's" or eco-friendly bowls for serving food in.
The tree is considered to have actibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities and is hence used in all forms of traditional medicine---Ayurveda, Sidhha and Unani. All parts of the tree: the bark, the flowers, stem and seeds are used in medicine.