Butea

This article is about the genus of flowering plants. For the commune in Romania, see Butea, Iaşi.
Not to be confused with Butia.

Butea
Butea monosperma flowers in India
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Tribe: Phaseoleae
Genus: Butea
Roxb. ex Willd. (1802), nom. cons.
Type species
Butea monosperma
Species[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Megalotropis Griff. (1854)
  • Meizotropis Voigt (1845)
  • Plaso Adans. (1763)
Butea monosperma seed pods

Butea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the pea family, Fabaceae. It includes five species native to the Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Tibet, and southern China.[1] It is sometimes considered to have only two species, B. monosperma and B. superba,[2] or is expanded to include four or five.[3]

Butea monosperma is used for timber, resin, fodder, herbal medicine, and dyeing.

Butea[clarification needed] is also a host to the lac insect, which produces natural lacquer.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Butea Roxb. ex Willd. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ Gwilym Lewis, Brian Schrire, Barbara MacKinder, and Mike Lock. 2005. Legumes of the World. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Richmond, England.
  3. ^ Dezhao Chen; Dianxiang Zhang & Mats Thulin. "Butea". Flora of China Online. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  4. ^ 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.