Description

Bauhinia variegata, the orchid tree or mountain ebony, is a medium-sized deciduous tree of the family Fabaceae (subfamily Caesalpinioideae), native to a broad area from Pakistan through India, Nepal, Myanmar, and southern China, naturalised and cultivated widely across tropical and subtropical regions as a prominent ornamental. The tree produces characteristic butterfly-shaped bilobed leaves and showy, five-petalled, mauve-pink flowers. In Ayurveda, the bark — known as Kanchanara and listed in the Charaka Samhita — is cited in formulations addressing thyroid gland enlargement (Galaganda), lymphatic conditions, and obesity. Kanchanara Guggulu — a well-known classical compound incorporating this bark with Guggal resin — is formally listed in the Ayurvedic Formulary of India. The bark is commercially harvested in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.