Bauhinia ungulata
Bauhinia ungulata
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Grows best in a sunny position[1]. Young plants have a rapid rate of growth[1]. Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen[2].
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a partially shaded position in a nursery seedbed. A germination rate of less than 20% can be expected, with the seed sprouting within 7 - 14 days[1]. Like many species within the family Fabaceae, once they have been dried for storage the seeds of this species may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up and improve germination. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing[PFAF]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bauhinia+ungulata>
Pollinators
Bats
References
- [1]Brazilian Trees. Volume 3. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2009 · ISBN 85-86714-34-4 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
- [2]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
- [3]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
- [4]Flora of Yucatan — Standley P.C. · Field Museum of Natural History; Chicago · 1930 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎The first flora that was attempted for this area in 1930, so it is obviously lacking information and the Botanical names can be out of date. Still, an excellent work and it records many plant uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
- [5]Anthropological Papers Nos. 27 - 32 — US Government Printing Office; Washington. · 1943 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A series of papers, including one looking at 100 often used native plants of the Yucatan.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎