Bauhinia petersiana

Bauhinia petersiana Bolle subsp. petersiana

Common names

Kalahari bauhinia, coffee bauhinia (English); mupondo (Bemba, Nyanja, Tumbuka); katondotondo, mpando, mpandula, muwauwa, nguwa, mpondo (Nyanja).

The English name ‘coffee bauhinia’ refers to the fact that the seeds can be roasted as a substitute for coffee.

General description and distinguishing characteristics

A shrub up to 3-4 m in height. Bark smooth, grey. Leaves simple, alternate, butterfly-shaped, up to 12 cm in diameter, bilobed with a small bristle in the notch. Leaves leathery, blue-green above, grey-green beneath; leaf margins are entire. Flowers conspicuously large, with receptacle up to 4.5 cm long; petals white with wavy margins, up to 8 cm long. Stamens pinkish (December-January). Fruit large, thick, woody, dehiscent pods up to 25 x 5 cm (July-October).

Bauhinia petersiana subsp. petersiana could be mistaken for Bauhinia tomentosa or Piliostigma thonningii when in leaf. However, Bauhinia tomentosa has smaller leaves and yellow flowers. Piliostigma thonningii has indehiscent (non-splitting) pods.

Range and habitat

Bauhinia petersiana subsp. petersiana occurs in Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In the valley it is associated with Combretum-Terminalia-Diospyros wooded grassland and thicket.