Bauhinia semla — Edible Plant Database

What to Eat

Edible parts: Flowers, Buds, Gum

The buds and flowers are cooked and pickled. Tender leaves are cooked and used as a vegetable. Cut stems produce a gum used in sweetmeat manufacture.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical and subtropical plant.

Asia, Australia, Himalayas, India, Nepal, Pakistan,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A medium sized tree. The bark is dark brown. The leaves are 8-15 cm long and slightly broader than long. The leaf stalk is thickened at both ends. The flowers have a stalk up to 2 cm long. The flowers are white. They are in sprays. The fruit is a pod 10-18 cm long by 3-4 cm wide. There are 6-8 flat seeds. They are dark brown.