Bignonia indica Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 625. 1753; B. pentandra Loureiro; Calosanthes indica (Linnaeus) Blume.

Trees 6-10 m tall. Trunk 15-20 cm in diam.; bark gray-brown. Leaves 2(-4)-pinnately compound, borne nearly at stem apex, 60-130 cm; leaflets triangular-ovate, 5-13 X 3-10 cm, glabrous, becoming blue after drying, base subrounded or cordate, oblique, margin entire, apex short acuminate; lateral veins 5 or 6 on each side of midrib. Inflorescences 40-150 cm. Flowers usually open at night, with foul smell. Pedicel 3-7 cm. Calyx purple, campanulate, 2.2-4.5 X 2-3 cm, glabrous, membranous, becoming subwoody in fruit, apex truncate.Corolla purple-red; tube fleshy, 3-9 X 1-1.5 cm; mouth 5.5-8 cm in diam.; upper lip 2-lobed, lower lip 3-lobed, lobes slightly reflexed. Stamens inserted at middle of corolla tube; filaments ca. 4 cm, slightly exserted from corolla tube, tomentose basally; anthers ellipsoid, 8-10 mm, slightly divergent. Disc large, fleshy, 5-lobed, 4-5 mm thick, ca. 1.5 cm in diam. Style 5-7 cm; stigma 2-parted, ca. 7 X 5 mm. Capsule woody, 40-120 X 5-9 cm, ca. 1 cm thick; valves with midrib, margin convex. Seeds rounded, including papery wing 6-7 X 3.5-4 cm. Fl. Sep-Dec. 2n = 28, 30, 38.

The seeds and bark are used medicinally for alleviating pain and as an antiphlogistic medicine.

Tropical and subtropical low altitude open forests, roadsides, slopes; 500-900 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam].