Bauhinia acuminata L., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: bai hua yang ti jia

English: dwarf white bauhinia, snowy orchid tree, white orchid tree

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Cultivated shrub to 3 m tall; young stems, petioles and inflorescence axes with sparse curled pubescence.  Stipules lance-linear, 5-12 mm long, acuminate, curled puberulent, caducous; largest colleter swollen, divergent, 1.5-2.1 mm long.  Leaves with petioles 1.5-4 cm long; blades ovate, broadly ovate or suborbicular, 5.4-11.3 (20) x 3.7-11.3 cm, divided about 1/3 their length, membranous, glabrous adaxially, densely puberulent abaxially, base cordate to rounded, apex of lobes acute.  Inflorescences axillary racemes, 2.5-5.8 cm long; peduncles negligible; bracts and bracteoles lance-linear, 3-9 mm long, puberulent, especially on margins, caducous.  Flowers with pedicel 6-12 mm long; hypanthium 5-9 mm long; calyx limb spathaceous, 28-37 mm long, with few scattered hairs abaxially, apex of 5 spidery lobes 1.7-4.1 mm long; petals not clawed, elliptic to oblanceolate, 39-49 (60) x 20-25 (30) mm, glabrous, white; fertile stamens 10, filaments strigose at base; ovary stipitate, strigose on sutures, stigma peltate, bilobed.  Legumes linear, 7.5-15 x 1.7-1.8 cm, glabrous, brown; seeds suborbicular, ca. 10 mm in diameter" (Howard, 1988; pp. 380, 382).

Habitat/ecology:  Full sun to partial shade, average water needs, soil pH 5.6-6.5 (mildly acidic to acidic) (Dave's Garden).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Southeast Asia, possibly Indonesia, Malaysia or the Philippines; exact native range obscure. Cultivated and naturalized in tropical Asia (GRIN). "A native of SE Asia and perhaps also wild in parts of Malesia, widely cultivated throughout the tropics" (Verdcourt, 1979; p. 114).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 95)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 88) Voucher cited: S.F. Glassman 2838 (BISH)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1949) (voucher ID: BISH 153088) Taxon name on voucher: Bauhinia acuminata L.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Fatu Hiva Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
Palau Palau (Belau ) (main island group)	Koror (Oreor) Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (p. 79)
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	introduced	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 216)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	possibly native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	probably introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 258) In dry thickets at low and medium altitudes, probably introduced.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 50)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced	Waterhouse, Barbara (year unknown)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 133) Ornamental.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	possibly native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Possibly native Borneo Naturalized
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 18) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2013)

Comments:  Naturalizing on the Cape York Peninsula, Australia (Barbara Waterhouse, pers. com.).

Control:  If you know of control methods for Bauhinia acuminata, please let us know.