Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures ( Trees ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Orchid Tree, Purple Orchid Ttree, Mountain Ebony, Poor Man's Orchid (Bauhinia variegata), Caesalpiniaceae Family, naturalized, evergreen to deciduous, blooms late winter through early summer (intermittenly there after), considered a Category I invasive in Florida

This tree growing near downtown San Antonio has one of the most beautiful blooms I have ever seen. Most of the blooms are 4 to 5 inches across and the tree is covered with them right now. It has been blooming for some time. The blooms are followed by long seed pods. It is winter hardy to 22°F. The Purple Orchid tree does best in acidic soil and are off green under limey conditions and it is not tolerant of salty conditions.

Note: It is often mistaken for Bauhinia purpurea. Bauhinia variegata blooms have petals that overlap; whereas, B. purpurea bloom petals do not overlap. B. variegata blooms, which are self-pollinating, have 5 to 6 stamina (pl. for stamen); whereas, B. purpurea blooms have 3 to 4 stamina. There are other differences as well.

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2403/index.html

The growth habit ... This photo doesn't do it justice.


This message was edited Dec 4, 2006 4:01 AM