Bauhinia blakeana seed

LATIN NAME: Bauhinia blakeana

COMMON NAME: Hong Kong Orchid Tree, Blake’s Bauhinia

The Hong Kong orchid tree is one of the most spectacular flowering trees of the subtropics, and it is the flower of Hong Kong itself. It grows as a semi-evergreen tree, usually five to ten metres tall, with a broad, spreading crown of large, two-lobed leaves that look like a butterfly or a split hoof, giving the genus its other name, camel’s foot tree. Through winter and spring, when little else is in bloom, the tree is covered with huge, orchid-like flowers, each with five large, wavy petals in rich shades of purple, magenta and crimson, with darker veins running through them. The display is breathtaking, and the flowers are followed by long, flat seed pods.

The Hong Kong orchid tree belongs to the pea family, Fabaceae, and it was first discovered in Hong Kong in the 1880s and named for Sir Henry Blake, a governor of the colony. It is a natural hybrid, largely sterile, and it is now grown as an ornamental throughout the warm subtropics and tropics.

Positive & Encouraging Seed Germination Guide

Growing a Hong Kong orchid tree from seed takes patience and a little understanding. Because the tree is a natural hybrid, it is largely sterile and rarely sets viable seed, so seedlings are uncommon. If you do have seeds, they benefit from a short period of cold, moist treatment, and they germinate best when sown fresh in warm, moist, free-draining compost. Germination can be slow and irregular, so be patient. In practice, most cultivated trees are grown from cuttings or grafting, which is the reliable way to grow this beautiful tree. If you live in a warm, frost-free climate, a tree grown this way will reward you with its spectacular winter display of orchid flowers.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Hong Kong orchid tree has a notable place in both botanical and horticultural research. As a natural hybrid, it is of great interest to botanists and geneticists, who have studied its origin, its sterility and its relationships with its parent species, and the tree has become a model in research on hybridisation and plant breeding. In horticulture, it is one of the most important flowering trees of the subtropics, studied for its spectacular flowers, its cultivation and its propagation, and researchers have worked to develop reliable methods of growing it from cuttings and grafts. The tree is also of cultural significance, as its flower is the emblem of Hong Kong, and it is studied as a symbol of plant conservation and urban planting. For a tree of such beauty and meaning, the Hong Kong orchid tree has a rich and interesting record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the Hong Kong orchid tree is a generous tree. Its large, nectar-rich flowers feed bees and other pollinators through winter and spring, its spreading crown gives shade and shelter, and in warmer regions it provides food and cover for wildlife.

Its economic value lies mainly in ornamental horticulture. It is one of the most widely planted flowering trees in the subtropics and tropics, used in parks, avenues, gardens and as a street tree, prized for its spectacular winter flowers, and it has a major place in the nursery trade. The flower is also the national emblem of Hong Kong. For a grower, the Hong Kong orchid tree is a high-value ornamental, and for a gardener in a warm climate it brings one of the most breathtaking flower displays of any tree.

Bauhinia blakeana is an orchid tree of the genus Bauhinia with large thick leaves and striking purplish red flowers. The fragrant, orchid-like flowers are usually 10 to 15 centimetres (3.9 to 5.9 in) across, and bloom from early November to the end of March. Although now cultivated in many areas, it originated in Hong Kong in 1880 and apparently all of the cultivated trees derive from one cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanic Gardens and widely planted in Hong Kong starting in 1914. It is referred to as bauhinia in non-scientific literature though this is the name of the genus. It is sometimes called the Hong Kong orchid