Railroadfence

Bauhinia pauletia Pers. Syn. Pi. 1: 455. 1805
Bauhinia spinosa Poir. in Lam. Encycl. Suppl. 1: 599. 1810.
Batihinia panamensis Spreng. Syst. 2: 334. 1825.
Bauhinia chloranlhaBTunA.ZixS -.200. 1905.
Bauhinia longijlora Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 97. 1906.
A shrub, or a small tree up to 5 m. high, with long branches, the young twigs villouspubescent or puberulent, bearing a stout prickle 2-4 mm. long at the base of each petiole. Leaves suborbicular, or a Uttle broader than long, 2-lobed to about one-third their length, rounded or subcordate at the base, 6 cm. long or less, pubescent beneath or nearly glabrous, the lobes rounded, their petioles 1-2 cm. long; flowers racemose at tlie ends of the twigs, leafybracted, 6-10 cm. long; pedicels about 1 cm. long; calyx-tube 1.5-2 cm. long, the limb elongated; petals elongated-linear; perfect stamens 5, about as long as the petals; legume linear, compressed, long-stipitate, velvety, 25 cm. long or less, about 13 mm. wide.
Type locality: Panama.
Distribution: Sinaloa to Panama; Porto Rico;

Bauhinia leptopetala DC. Prodr. 2: 513. 1825
Prickles stout. Leaves suborbicular, a little longer than wide, glabrous, 6 cm. long or less, 2-lobed, the lobes short-acuminate; peduncles axillary, short, 2-flowered; calyx about 5 cm. long; petals linear, acute; stamens 5, much longer than the petals; anthers about 15 mm. long.
Type locality: New Spain.
Distribution: Known only from the description and illustration.

Perennial, Trees, Shrubs, Woody throughout, Stems erect or ascending, Stems greater than 2 m tall, Trunk or stems armed with thorns, spines or prickles, Stems solid, Stems or young twigs glabrous or sparsely glabrate, Stems or young twigs sparsely to densely hairy, Leav es alternate, Leaves petiolate, Stipules conspicuous, Stipules green, triangulate to lanceolate or foliaceous, Stipules deciduous, Stipules free, Leaves simple, or appearing so, Leaf or leaflet margins entire, Leaflets lobed or hastate, Leaflets 1, Leaves glabrous or nearly so, Inflorescences racemes, Inflorescence axillary, Inflorescence terminal, Bracts conspicuously present, Bracteoles present, Flowers actinomorphic or somewhat irregular, Calyx 5-lobed, Calyx glabrous, Calyx hairy, Petals separate, Petals greenish yellow, Stamens 9-10, Fertile stamens 5, Stamens completely free, separate, Filaments glabrous, Style terete, Fruit a legume, Fruit stipitate, Fruit unilocular, Fruit freely dehiscent, Fruit elongate, straight, Fruit oblong or ellipsoidal, Fruit coriaceous or becoming woody, Fruit exserted from calyx, Fruit glabrous or glabrate, Fruit hairy, Fruit 3-10 seeded, Seeds ovoid to rounded in outline, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black.