Humboldtia brunonis Wallich (CAESALPINIACEAE)
Common name:
Kannada: Hasige mara.
Description: Shrubs or small trees. Leaves subsessile; rachis ca 5 cm long; leaflets 2 pairs, obovate – oblong, up to 22 x 8.5 cm, obliquely acute at base, abruptly acuminate at apex. Stipules ca 3 cm long with reniform, leafy basal appendages. Flowers in 8-15 cm long axillary racemes, subtended by a pair of persistent, coloured, gland-dotted bracteoles. Calyx lobes 4, bluntly ovate, pink, greyish hairy. The petals are three in number, spathulate, clawed, and exhibit a white hue tinged with pink. There are five stamens, alternating with five staminodes. The ovary is stipitate and hairy, with a capitate stigma. The pods are oblong, flat, oblique, measuring approximately 7 x 2.5 cm.
Flowering & Fruiting: November – June.
Distribution: India: In evergreen forests of Western Ghats. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.
