Genus: Bauhinia
Common Name: Butterfly shrub
Family: Caesalpinaceae
Appearance: Trees, woody shrubs, climbers and groundcovers, deep green lobed leaves which usually close at night time.
Flowers: Pink, orange, red flowers for long periods in spring and summer.
Features: Good plants for landscape use and low maintenance gardens. Some may carry thorns.
Requirements: Moist fertile soils referred. Will handle occasional dry periods. Known to grow well on impoverished soil. Tolerant of a wide range of variables in light, wind, etc.
Culture: Pruning will improve shape and flowering. Growth and flowering improved with regular watering and fertiliser.
Pest & Disease: Grasshoppers and spider mites have been observed but most relatively pest and disease free.
Species & Varieties:
About 300 species, including:
B. acuminata -To 3m tall, white flowers.
B. Galpinii (syn. B. punctata) (Red Bauhinia) -Extremely tough landscaping shrub 1 to 4m tall, with orange to brick red flowers over a number of months.
B. polycarpa -Upright shrub to 4m tall, greenish yellow flowers in clusters to 12 cm long.
B. tomentosa (Yellow Bauhinia) -Erect plant to 5m, with lobed orbicular leaves to 6cm long, and bright yellow to white flowers with a brown or red blotch at the base of the upper petal. The cultivar 'Picta' has pale yellow almost white flowers.