Bauhinia purpurea is an erect, evergreen shrub or tree with a very bushy crown; it can grow 7 - 10 metres tall.

The tree has a wide range of local uses, providing food, medicines and a range of commodities. It should also make an excellent pioneer species and is commonly cultivated as an ornamental through much of the tropics, being valued especially for its handsome flowers.
 
The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2011)

Edible Uses
Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
Flower buds and flowers - cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
The flower buds are often pickled or used in curries.
Young seedpods - cooked and eaten as a vegetable
 
Medicinal
The root is carminative
The flowers are laxative.
The bark, roots and flowers, when mixed with rice-water, are used in poultice form as a maturant
 
Agroforestry Uses:
This tree should make an excellent pioneer with its ease of establishment, rapid growth and hardiness. Some thought should be given, however, to the possibility of it escaping from cultivation.
 
Other Uses
The plant yields a gum.
The bark is a source of.
 It is also used for dyeing.
A fibre is obtained from the bark.
The wood is rosy-white in colour, turning brown upon exposure to the atmosphere. Fine and closely grained, it is hard and durable. It is used for carpentry and joinery when large enough; otherwise it is used for agricultural implements.
The wood is used for fuel.