Butea monosperma (Dhak) fruits at Canopy W2 IMG 7498

''Butea'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s belonging to the pea family,

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

. It is sometimes considered to have only two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, '' B. monosperma'' and '' B. superba'',Gwilym Lewis, Brian Schrire, Barbara MacKinder, and Mike Lock. 2005. ''Legumes of the World''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Richmond, England. or is expanded to include four or five species. ''

Butea monosperma ''Butea monosperma'' is a species of '' Butea'' native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of the South Asia and Southeast Asia, ranging across Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysi ...

'' is used for timber, resin, fodder, herbal medicine, and dyeing. ''Butea'' is also a host to the

lac insect ''Kerriidae'' is a family of scale insects, commonly known as lac insects or lac scales. Some members of the genera ''Metatachardia'', ''Tachardiella'', ''Austrotacharidia'', ''Afrotachardina'', ''Tachardina'', and ''Kerria'' are raised for comme ...

, which produces natural

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...

.Munivenkatappa Sanjappa. 1987. "Revision of the genera ''Butea'' Roxb. ex Willd. and ''Meizotropis'' Voigt (Fabaceae)". ''Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India'' 29:199-225.

Taxonomy

''Butea'' is named after John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), member of parliament, prime minister for one year, and a patron of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

.Umberto Quattrocchi. 2000. ''CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names'' volume I. CRC Press: Boca Raton; New York; Washington, DC; USA. London, UK. William Roxburgh erected the genus ''Butea'' in 1795, but it became a

nomen invalidum This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

. Carl Willdenow validated the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

''Butea'' in 1802.

Uses

''Butea monosperma'', called kiṃśukha in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, is used in

Ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

medicine to treat various symptoms.

Species

Forty-two names have been published in ''Butea'',''Butea''
At
IPNI
/ref> but forty of these are either

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

names A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

of species that have been transferred to other genera. * '' B. braamiana'' * '' B. buteiformis'' (''Megalotropis buteiformis'', ''Meizotropis buteiformis'') * '' B. monosperma'' (syn. ''Butea frondosa'', ''Erythrina monosperma''): flame-of-the-forest, bastard teak, pâlāsh * '' B. superba'' (''Plaso superba'', ''Rudolphia superba'')

References

External links

* *
''Erythrina monosperma''
In
Encyclopédie Méthodique. Botanique
Phaseoleae Fabaceae genera {{Phaseoleae-stub