Blackboard Tree vs Butterfly tree

Alstonia scholaris compared with Bauhinia purpurea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackboard Tree	Butterfly tree
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Gentianales (Gentianales)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Apocynaceae	Fabaceae
Genus	Alstonia	Bauhinia
Species	Alstonia scholaris	Bauhinia purpurea

Evolutionary Relationship

Blackboard Tree and Butterfly tree share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Blackboard Tree

LC — Least Concern

Butterfly tree

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackboard Tree	Butterfly tree
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blackboard Tree

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Micronesia, Taiwan, and United States.

Butterfly tree

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 5 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (11 countries), Asia (6 countries), Europe (United Kingdom), North America (6 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (4 countries), and South America (Colombia).

Blackboard Tree

The Blackboard Tree (Alstonia scholaris) is a species in the genus Alstonia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.

Butterfly tree

The Butterfly tree (Bauhinia purpurea) is a species in the genus Bauhinia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 5 distinct biome types. Populations are also found

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇫🇲 Micronesia 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇸 United States