Bauhinia phoenicea B. Heyne ex Wight & Arn., the less known endemic and threatened liana of the southern Western Ghats, requires immediate conservation

Abstract

Bauhinia phoenicea is endemic to the Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is assessed as Vulnerable as per the IUCN red list criteria using primary and secondary information on trends in EOO, AOO and sub-populations. Taxonomy of the species, distribution, variability in the number of fertile stamens, and causes of rarity are discussed. Lectotypification is also made for B. benthamii, a taxonomic synonym of B. phoenicea.

Keywords

• Bauhinia benthamii
• B. phoenicea
• IUCN Red List Assessment
• Karnataka
• Kerala
• southern Western Ghats
• Tamil Nadu
• Vulnerable.