- Name: Purple Tree Orchid - Other Common Names: Purple Bauhinia / Orchid Tree / Butterfly Flower / Butterfly Tree / Camel's Foot / Hawaiian Orchid Tree - Scientific Name: Bauhinia Purpurea Syn. Bauhomoa Triandra - Color: Purple - Plant Seeds: Outdoors After Frost / Indoors Weeks Before Last Frost - Bloom Time: Winter – Spring - Hardiness Zone: 9 -12 - Plant Height: 15 - 30' - Plant Spacing: 15 - 30' - Light Requirements: Sun - Part Shade - Soil & Water Preferences: Average - Quantity: 10 Seeds - Other: This Show-Stopping Tropical Tree Is Native To Indian Subcontinent, But Has Been Naturalized In The Us, The Caribbean, Australia, & Beyond. They Are A Wonderful Ornamental, Growing Quickly But Not Too Large. They Are Actually A Legume, & Are Able To Tolerate Poor Soils & Even Help To Fix The Nitrogen Levels In The Soil Making It More Fertile. The Large Showy Orchid-Like Flowers Smother The Tree In Purple Flowers With Darker Reddish Tongues & Splotches That Attract Hummingbirds. After Blooming, The Flowers Turn Into Large 6 – 9” Seed Pods That Provide Additional Interest Through The Winter.