Yellow Bauhinia (Bauhinia tomentosa): Bell-Shaped Blooms

Yellow bauhinia, or yellow bell orchid tree, is a small semi-evergreen tree native to Africa and India, grown for its pretty yellow flowers with a dark maroon center.

Botanical Profile

Description and Features

This tree grows 10–20 feet tall with a spreading canopy. Leaves are distinctive, bilobed (shaped like a butterfly or camel's foot), gray-green, slightly hairy. Flowers are bell-shaped, pale yellow with a maroon throat, appearing in clusters over a long season. Fruit is a flat, woody pod.

Cultivation and Uses

Yellow bauhinia prefers full sun and well-drained soil. It is drought-tolerant once established. Used as a specimen, in mixed borders, or as a street tree in tropical/subtropical areas. It can be pruned to maintain a shrub form.

Note

The genus Bauhinia is named for the Bauhin brothers, 16th-century botanists.