Bauhinia purpurea

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Common Name: purple orchid tree

Family: Fabaceae

Common Synonyms: none

USDA Hardiness Zone: 9a-11

Growth Habit: Tree

Origin: Tropical Asia

FISC Category: -

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: No

Introduction Date: Earliest Florida specimen vouchered in 1982

IFAS Assessment:

  • North: INVASIVE
  • Central: INVASIVE
  • South: INVASIVE
NA
Phanera purpurea flower (kaniar) in Hyderabad, India, by J.M. Garghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanera_purpureaUsed under Creative Commons 3.0 license

Description

Evergreen tree to 10 m tall. Leaves thick and deeply-divided into two lobes. Showy flowers of variable color (pink, purple, red, cream), 8-10 cm wide. Fruits are a green legume turning dark brown at maturity.

Habitat

Disturbed areas

Comments

Planted as an ornamental for its attractive flowers. Planted as an ornamental for its attractive flowers.

Map of species distribution

Control Methods

  • Manual: NA
  • Chemical: Basal bark (10% trichlopyr ester), cut stump (50% trichlopyr amine). [IFAS]
  • Biological: NA

Control Notes

NA

References

Dave's Garden. 2014. PlantFiles: Orchid Tree, Bauhinia purpurea. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2325/. Accessed on June 20, 2014.

Invasive Species South Africa. 2014. Butterfly Orchid Tree, Bauhinia purpurea. http://www.invasives.org.za/invasive-species/item/196-butterfly-orchid-tree%7Cbauhinia-purpurea.html. Accessed on June 26, 2014.

Wunderlin, R. P., and B. F. Hansen. 2008. Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).[S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.