Bauhinia aculeata (White Orchid Tree)

One to 33 feet tall semi-evergreen tree from the family Leguminosae. Grows fast, is disease resistant and flowers from spring into the summer, in Brazil also as ornamental tree planted. It bears 6 to 12 inches long brown seed pods. The tree should be native to Brazil. This should be the hardiest bauhinia species, perhaps sufficiently hardy for Heligoland, the German island with the mildest winters in the North Sea, perhaps it should be hardy also on sheltered places in the Ticino in the Switzerland. It also survived the frost of -2°C on 26th June 2011 without any damage and even flowered further.

White Orchid Tree in the corner of our front garden behind of the Queen Palm (Syagrus

romanzoffiana) in August 2007.

Close-up view of one flower of the orchid tree in July 2010.

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Updated by Joachim Jaeck on October 13th. 2013