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Bauhinia glabra, also commonly referred to as the monkey step/ladder, is more often introduced with its accepted name, whereas Bauhinia cumanensis, is a synonym for the plant name. B. glabra is located in the tropical climates of countries such as Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia and Guayana, while being introduced to Sri Lanka.
B. glabra provides both medicinal and environmental uses. The name "monkey step" comes from the use of the vine, which is both woody and flexible. Hunters collect the vine and crush it, making it into a tincture (the extract if the plant dissolved into ethanol) and adding it to a "snake bottle", as a traditional treatment for snakebites. The bark and leaves are also used in a traditional herbal medicine against gall stones.
B. glabra thrives in very acidic soils; it does not do well in salty conditions. The plant is an autotroph, and fixes nitrogen. It grows in tropical areas and shows optimal growth under full sun exposure. Abundant water is needed in the summer, and humidity is preferred during the winter. Therefore, its habitats include most areas in South America, Peru, India, and similar regions. This species begins flowering in the later portion of winter and continues on to bloom during early summer. There are also endophytic fungi on the surface of the plant creating a mycorrhizal relationship. Some create antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The species is mainly pollinated by bats, and dispersed by animals rather than wind.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bauhinia glabra by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
