Bauhinia variegata Seeds | Orchid Tree

Orchid Tree (Bauhinia variegata) seed — Orchid Tree (*Bauhinia variegata*): Fabaceae, native to the forests of the Himalayan foothills and South-East Asia.

LATIN NAME: Bauhinia variegata

COMMON NAME: Orchid Tree

Plant Profile

Bauhinia variegata is grown for a flowering that looks tropical and is hardy enough for a Mediterranean garden. The flowers are orchid-like, five petals in pink, white or purple, with one petal marked in a deeper colour, and they open in spring on a tree that is briefly bare. The leaves are two-lobed, like a hoof, and they are among the last to fall in winter.

The species grows in the Himalayan foothills from Pakistan to Myanmar, and it is planted across the tropics as a street tree and as an ornamental. It reaches ten metres with a spreading crown, and the bark is grey and smooth on young wood. The pods are long, flat and brown, and they hang on the tree for months.

Science & Biotechnology

The flower is built for bats and for birds as well as for bees, and the marked petal acts as a landing guide. The tree is a legume but it does not fix nitrogen efficiently, and it grows best on deep, moist soil. The buds and the flowers are eaten as a vegetable in India, and the young pods are cooked in curries.

The genus is defined by the two-lobed leaf, and the species are separated by flower colour, by the number of fertile stamens and by the shape of the pod. Bauhinia variegata has five fertile stamens and a pod that is flat and leathery, which separates it from the white-flowered B. acuminata and from the red B. purpurea, both of which are also planted.

Uses & Benefits

The tree is grown as an ornamental and as a street tree, and it is used in India as a host for lac and for the rearing of the tasar silkworm. The buds and flowers are eaten, and the bark is used for tanning and for rope.

In Ayurveda the bark is used for glandular swellings and for skin complaints, and the root is used as a tonic. The wood is hard and dark and is used for agricultural implements, and the tree is planted for shade in villages and along roads.

Growing from Seed

Seed needs scarification. Soak it in hot water for a day, then sow at 25 to 30 degrees; germination is in two to four weeks. The seedling is fast, and it can be planted out within a year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood also root.

The tree wants full sun and a well-drained soil, and it tolerates drought and poor ground. It is hardy to about minus three, and it flowers best after a dry winter. It is short-lived and brittle, so plant it away from buildings, and prune it after flowering to keep a compact crown. Water young trees until they establish, then leave them to the weather.

Our Take

The easiest orchid tree for a warm garden, flowering on bare wood in spring and lasting about thirty years. Worth the space.

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