Piliostigma malabaricum

(Roxb.) Benth. · species

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Plantae/Tracheophyta/Magnoliopsida/Fabales/Fabaceae/Piliostigma

At a glance

Occurrence records465

Data sources11

Biological traits42

DNA specimens0

eDNA detections0

Sources11 archives

Databases and archives Piliostigma malabaricum's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation3 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility465 records↗

LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗

NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗

GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗

CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype

Tree of SexTree of Sex Consortiumgenome & karyotype↗

GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗

On this page5 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements4 literature sources42 traits

Chemical compositionLOTUS · NPASS13 compounds

Occurrence & distributionGBIF465 records

Genome at a glanceCCDB · GoaT · TreeOfSex2n = 28

01Narrative

Piliostigma malabaricum is a small (sometimes ornamental) tree species in the family Fabaceae. It was previously placed in the genus Bauhinia, but names changed with reorganisation of the subfamily Cercidoideae and the tribe Bauhinieae. This Asian species has been called the "Purple Orchid Tree" (although not to be confused with Bauhinia purpurea or Bauhinia variegata) and names in Vietnamese are: chân trâu and móng bò tai voi. The Catalogue of Life lists the subspecies P. malabaricum acidum.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesWCVPGIFTAusTraitsTRY

Size & morphology16

Fruit length225 mm

Fruit width15 mm

Leaf length72.5 mm

Leaf width95 mm

Petiole length2.95 cm

Plant height15 m

⚠ sources differ — GIFT: 15 m · AusTraits: 10 m

Plant height max10 m

Plant height min2 m

Seed length4.5 mm

Seed mass403 mg

⚠ sources differ — TRY: 403 mg · AusTraits: 286 mg · GIFT: 442 mg

Seed mass max598 mg

Seed mass min286 mg

Seed volume500 mm³

Seed volume max500 mm³

Seed volume min500 mm³

Seed width3.5 mm

Life cycle & reproduction9

Deciduousnessevergreen

Flowering timeyyyynnnnnnny

Life formtree

Life spanperennial

Pollination modebiotic

Pollination syndromeinsect

Resprouting capacityresprouts

Self fertilizationabsent

Sex typedioecious

Diet & foraging1

Parasiteindependent

Habitat & environment12

Aquaticterrestrial

Climateseasonally dry tropical

Climberself-supporting

Elevation max500 m

Elevation min200 m

Epiphyteterrestrial

Fruit fleshinessdry

Fruit typelegume

Growth formtree

Leaf compoundnesssimple

Leaf shapeelliptical

Woodinesswoody

Physiology & chemistry3

Nitrogen fixingnitrogen_fixer

Photosynthetic pathwayC3

Wood density580 mg/cm³

Other traits1

Plant support typefree-standing

03Chemical composition13 compounds

Compounds documented for Piliostigma malabaricum across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").

Compound class profile5 classes

Monomeric stilbenes2

Simple coumarins1

Purine alkaloids1

Flavones1

Flavonols1

Documented compounds13 total

Tissue Source Quantified only

Compound	Amount	Source
(1R)-13,16,16-trimethyl-15-oxatetracyclo[8.7.1.02,7.014,18]octadeca-2(7),3,5,10,12,14(18)-hexaene-5,6,12-triol	present	LOTUS
(1R)-5-methoxy-13,16,16-trimethyl-15-oxatetracyclo[8.7.1.02,7.014,18]octadeca-2(7),3,5,10,12,14(18)-hexaene-6,12-diol	present	LOTUS
(1S)-13,16,16-trimethyl-15-oxatetracyclo[8.7.1.02,7.014,18]octadeca-2(7),3,5,10,12,14(18)-hexaene-5,6,12-triol	present	LOTUS
2-((4-(Ethylamino)-6-methoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)amino)-2-methylpropiononitrile	present	NPASS
6-Butanoyl-5,7-dihydroxy-8-(2-hydroxy-3-methylbut-3-enyl)-4-phenylchromen-2-one	present	LOTUS
Chrysoeriol	present	NPASS
DCYOADKBABEMIQ-JKLLYOAQSA-N	present	NPASS
Demethylracemosol	present	NPASS
Preracemosol A	present	LOTUS
Preracemosol B	present	LOTUS

05DNA & barcodingmolecular

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Piliostigma malabaricum has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

06Genome at a glanceCCDB · GoaT · TreeOfSex

The complete instruction manual Piliostigma malabaricum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged

2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.

Chromosomes2n = 28 n = 14

Ploidypolyploid inferred

Chromosome records28–282n range28median28mode7records

Chromosome-count records — grouped by value · 2n = full set, n = gamete · click a value for sources & references

2n 287×GoaT · Tree of Sex Database · CCDB · book-ipcn65 · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl +3

GoaT · Tree of Sex Database — ↗

CCDB · book-ipcn65 — Tixier 1965

CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — Kumari, S. & S. S. Bir. 1989. Karyomorphological evolution in Caesalpiniaceae. J. Cytol. Genet. 24: 149–163.

CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — Bir, S. S. & S. Kumari. 1977. Evolutionary status of Leguminosae from Pachmarhi, central India. Nucleus 20: 94–98.

CCDB · book-ipcn67-71 — SHARMA, A.K., & D.T. RAJU. 1968. structure and behaviour of chromosomes in Bauhinia and allied genera. Cytologia 33: 411-426.

CCDB · book-ipcn75-78 — Bir & Kumari 1977

TreeOfSex · plant — Goldblatt1979 ↗

n 142×CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · book-ipcn75-78

CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — Bir, S. S. & S. Kumari. 1977. Evolutionary status of Leguminosae from Pachmarhi, central India. Nucleus 20: 94–98.

CCDB · book-ipcn75-78 — Bir & Kumari 1977

Ploidy records — measured levels and diploid/polyploid inferences · click for sources

polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · family-scale

PloiDB · family-scale — chromEvol; reliability=1.000 ↗

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type465 records

Wild obs. + sensor250

Museum / vouchered207

Cultivated / captive3

Other5

Origin

Native17

Introduced1

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO932 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy98% within 1 km

≤100 m 161≤1 km 10≤10 km 3

174 georeferenced · 76 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor250

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy38% within 1 km

≤100 m 24≤1 km 36≤10 km 86>10 km 11

157 georeferenced · 50 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence207

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

Coordinate accuracy100% within 1 km

≤1 km 2

2 georeferenced · 1 without coordinates

Open the mapnot free-living3

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions13 of 18 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Brisbane, AU	43
Smithfield, AU	41
Palmerston, AU	40
Canberra, AU	30
Mount Annan, AU	12
Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record	12
Kensington, AU	10
Kew, GB	4
Tampa, US	3
James Cook Townsvillelocation not on record	3
Philadelphia, US	2
Baroda, IN	1
Wellington, NZ	1
Adelaide, AU	1
Armidale, AU	1
SNJB's KKHA Arts, SMGL Commerce & SPHJ Science College Chandwad, Dist. Nashik, Maharashtra, India. 423101.location not on record	1
Department of Plant Resources, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratorieslocation not on record	1
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record	1

18 institutions · 207 of 207 vouchered records shown

Cultivated / Captivenot free-living

A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.

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