Kachnar (Orchid Tree) Bauhinia Purpura

                      Kachnar / Orchid Tree

                                     Bauhinia variegata/ Bauhinia purpura / Kachnar. Orchid Tree. Most beautiful tree

Bauhinia variegata  / Butterfly tree / कचनार 

Bauhinia variegata कचनार 

कचनार 

                                                                  Bauhinia purpura Tree

Bauhinia variegata Mountain Ebony, Buddhist varigated bauhinia, Poor man's Orchid Tree, कचनार

Bauhinia variegata, a small tree with bright purple flowers. It inhabits rocky slopes and valleys. Kachnar buds are edible. Its flowers can be seen in March to April. Spot it at  Green Park Market, Nehru Park.

A Smallest tree  seldom more than a 8m tall in Delhi, with a short dark trunk and thin ascending branches forming a modest crown. Flowering may begin as early as end January but prime time is generally in the  first half of March. Flowering is over by mid April. It has two distinct varieties of bloom. 

Flowering : Oct to May Flowers appear first on the upper branches as the leaves start to drop. The two varieties are distinguished by their colour. Variegata has pink, lavender, white or purplish petals, 4 of a smaller colour, the 5th (central) petal border and darker with deep magenta veins. Candida variety is pure white. The specie is distinguished by  the 3 central overlapping petals, 5 long stamens and a very shallow cleft to its leaf.

......