A medium sized tree, bark dark brown, young shoots glabrous or slightly hairy. Leaves 7.5-15 cm long, slightly broader than long, apex entire or notched, base cordate or truncate, subcoriaceous, glabrous, 9-11 nerved; petiole 3.5-8.8 cm, thickened at both the ends. Inflorescence lax terminal panicle, the lower branches are axillary. Flowers pedicellate, pedicel 1.5-2 cm long, covered with soft pube¬scence, bract 2.5 mm long, linear, bracteole below the flower, similar and smaller than bracts. Calyx 5-7.5 mm long, silky pubescent, split almost to the base into 2-3 segments. Petals 1-1.5 cm long, clawed, obovate, hairy externally, white, 3 upper mottled with purple. Stamens 3. Ovary hairy on the margins, stipitate; style elongated. Pod 10-17.5 cm long, 3-3.8 cm wide, short stalked, oblong or oblanceo¬late, flat, firm, dehiscence late. Seeds 6-8, flat, suborbicular, dark-brown, smooth.

Fl. Per.: Sept.-Nov.

Type: Roxb. l.c. ined. 1237 (K).

The illustration is named Bauhinia emarginata and this is the name in Roxburgh’s Flora Indica manuscript at Kew, but later it was changed to Bauhinia retusa in published version.

Distribution: W. Pakistan (Punjab); India (Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal).

In Uttar Pradesh the tree is much tapped for gum. The gum is reputed to be diuretic and emmenagogue. It is also used for sores (Nadkarni, Ind. Mat. Med.ed.3. 1:183. 1954).