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. It is sometimes considered to have only two species, B. monosperma and B. superba, or is expanded to include four or five. Butea monosperma is used for timber, resin, fodder, herbal medicine, and dyeing. Butea is also a host to the lac insect, which produces natural lacquer.

Taxonomy

Butea is named after John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), member of parliament, prime minister for one year, and a patron of botany. William Roxburgh erected the genus Butea in 1795, but it became a nomen invalidum. Carl Willdenow validated the name Butea in 1802.

Uses

Butea monosperma, called kiṃśukha in Sanskrit, is used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat various symptoms.

Species

Forty-two names have been published in Butea, but forty of these are either synonyms or names of species that have been transferred to other genera. Five species are currently accepted.