Bauhinia scandens, Bauhinia anguina, Monkey's staircase

Bauhinia scandens L.
Family: Leguminosae
Synonyms: Bauhinia anguina Roxb. , Bauhinia debilis Hassk. , Bauhinia horsfieldii (Miq.) J.F.Macbr. , Bauhinia piperifolia Roxb. , Lasiobema anguina (Roxb.) Miq. , Lasiobema anguinum (Roxb.) Miq. [Spelling variant] , Lasiobema scandens (L.) de Wit , Phanera bifoliata Miq. , Phanera debilis (Hassk.) Miq. , Phanera scandens (L.) Raf. , Bauhinia anguina var. horsfieldii (Miq.) Prain , Bauhinia scandens var. anguina (Roxb.) H. Ohashi , Lasiobema scandens var. horsfieldii (Miq.) de Wit

Common names: Snake Climber, Snake Bauhinia, Monkey ladders, Monkey's staircase
Hindi: नागबेली Nagbeli
Malayalam: നാഗമു വല്ലീ Naga-mu-valli, നാഗ വല്ലീ Naga-valli

Lianas, mature stem twisted regularly and ultimately splitting along the middle; tendrils leaf-opposed, young shoots glabrous. Leaves lobed to 1/3 of their length, lobes caudate-acuminate, membranous, glabrous, to 10 x 7 cm; basally 5-7 nerved. Flowers clustered on the branches of terminal panicles. Calyx lobes ovoid, 1 mm long. Petals white, oblong, 3 mm long. Pods oblong, flat, narrowed and oblique at base, to 5 x 2.5 cm; seeds 1 or 2

3 published articles of Bauhinia scandens
1. A nontoxic antitumour compound from the leaves of Bauhinia scandens characterized as 1-O-alkyl glycerol by gas-liquid chromatography and evaluation of its antitumour property by Brine Shrimp bioassay
 Hazra, Asish Ghosh; Chatterjee, Padma - INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS  Volume: 27   Issue: 1   Pages: 39-43   DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2007.07.005   Published: JAN 2008

2. Notes on the Typification of Bauhinia scandens L. (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae)
Bandyopadhyay, Subir - Rheedea  Volume: 18   Issue: 2   Pages: 131   Published: 2008

3. POSSIBLE ANTICARCINOGENIC ACTIVITY OF THE HERBAL EXTRACT OF BAUHINIA-ANGUINA ROXBURGH
MAITRA A; CHATTERJEE P; BHATTACHARYA S - Cell and Chromosome Research  Volume: 14   Issue: 2-3   Pages: 35-40   Published: 1991