Purple Orchid Tree/Butterfly Tree

Bauhinia purpurea L.

bah-HIN-ee-uh per-POOR-ee-uh

Caesalpiniaceae (Legumes)

Key to Bauhinia L. 

Explanation of name: Bauhinia named for two Swiss botanists, the brothers Johann and Casper Bauhin. The two lobes of the leaf exemplify the two brothers. Purpurea means purple. (STE)

Natural range: India to Malaysian peninsula (BA2)

Recognition: Tree.  Leaves suborbicular to oval, 2-lobed, 3"-6" long, divided about 1/3 of their length.  Flowers pink to red or violet, in racemes, showy, 1-1/2" to 2" long. Fruit oblong, flat legume, to 8" long (ISE, BA2, UFST90)

Landscape uses: specimen tree, flowering tree, shade tree (UFST90, BR1)

Notes: Very similar to B. variegata, which flowers in the winter and spring and B. purpurea flowers in the fall. Petals on B. variegata are ½" wide and do not overlap while petals on B. purpurea are 1" wide and overlap. (BA2, ISE)