Orchid Tree

Orchid trees don't bear orchids—but they do bear flowers that resemble the blooms of certain orchids. The lovely blossoms are also attractive to hummingbirds. The Bauhinia genus includes hundreds of varieties of trees, shrubs, and vines that grow mostly in tropical regions around the world. Some are evergreen, and some drop their leaves during winter or drought.

An orchid tree's thick, leathery leaves are about 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 centimeters) wide, and deeply lobed. But this tree is mostly prized for its showy flowers, which may be purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, or white, depending on the species. Bauhinia blooms are "perfect," that is, they bear both male and female parts on the same flower. Some cultivated orchid trees are sterile, but on those that are reproductive, flowers give way to long (more than three inches, or seven centimeters) seedpods that start out green and turn brown. When fully dry, a pod springs open, each half forming a spiral, to release the flat, brown seeds inside.

Fast growers, orchid trees typically reach heights of 20 to 40 feet and can be almost as wide as they are tall. Some, like the orange- and yellow-flowering B. kockiana of Malaysia, are climbers that need a strong support. There is a tendency for orchid trees to sprout multiple trunks, and for branches to extend and then droop. Most trees flower in late winter through early summer.

Orchid trees like warmth; most don't tolerate frost. In the US, they grow in Hawaii, Southern California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, where they like full sun. If the soil is too alkaline, they'll let you know: their normally bright green leaves turn yellowish.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature  (IUCN, 2022) has assessed more than 90 species of Bauhinia, and 24 of those are Endangered or Vulnerable, threatened mostly by livestock, agriculture, or logging. One, B. haughtii, is found only in coastal Ecuador. Just 30 individuals remain, in a protected area of its native habitat, but the plants have been cultivated at the Ecuadorean National Herbarium and the Missouri Botanical Garden.

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