Bauhinia acuminata

Native to the islands of Southeast Asia and northern Australia, this evergreen shrub or small tree reaches about 10 feet tall. It is widely cultivated for its lightly fragrant white flowers and deeply divided leaves with pointed lobes. In Singapore, it flowers freely throughout the year. The flowers have five petals and prominent yellow anthers; in Java, Indonesia and Malaysia, they are also used as hair ornaments. The pods usually contain 5 to 12 seeds and split open explosively to disperse them. It is naturalized in open forests in drier parts of Thailand. Photographed in Florida.