Bauhinia racemosa, Lam.

Family: Leguminosae- Caesalpiniodeae

Common Name : Kanchan

Telugu Name : Aare

General :

A short crooked tree with persistent fruit in the cold season: common in all forests, frequently found in villages and worshipped by the Hindus during Dasara festival.

Flowering :

February to May.

Fruiting :

Pods ripen in November-December and remain on the tree for several months, falling towards the end of the summer season.

Morphology of the Fruit/Seed :

Pods 13 to 25 cms by 1.8 to 2.5 cms in size, generally curved, swollen, rigid, falcate, indehiscent. Seeds 12 to 20, glabrous, dark reddish brown or black, compressed, 8mm long.

Seed Collection and Storage :

Ripe pods are plucked off the tree in January to March, dried in the sun, beated with a wooden mallet to release the seeds which are cleaned and stored. Seeds can be stored for one year.

Seed Biology :

No.of seeds per kg.

Germination percentage

Plant percent

No.of seedlings per Kg. of seed

6,440 to 7,900

60 to 95

23 to 70

1,820 to 4,510

Pretreatment:

Not required

Nursery Technique :

It can be propagated by direct sowing, transplanting of entire plants or stump planting. Treated seed is sown in April-May in drills, 25 cms a part and covered to a depth of 5 mm and regularly watered and weeded. Germination starts in 4 to 10 days. Seedlings can be planted out in the very first rains. 12 to 15 months old plants are suitable for stump planting.