Two blooming Bauhinia monandra flowers with pale petals freckled in pink and bold red upper petals, surrounded by green leaf clusters

Bauhinia monandra (Pink Orchid Tree)

Native to northern and western Madagascar, this small tree usually grows about 10 to 23 feet tall. It is cultivated for its orchid-like flowers, which reach about 4 inches across and have pale petals dotted with pink or purple and a more strongly marked upper petal. Each flower has one long, curved fertile stamen. The flattened pods split open explosively, scattering their seeds. It is naturalized in the Caribbean and several Pacific islands, and is an environmental weed in northern Queensland, Australia, where it invades woodlands and forests. Photographed in Panama.

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Bauhinia monandra flower shows pale pink-speckled petals, a red upper petal edged in yellow, and a long white stamen

A cluster of Bauhinia monandra flowers with white and pink-speckled petals and dark red upper petals, glistening with raindrops against green foliage

Bauhinia monandra cluster of pale pink flowers with darker speckles and red upper petals rises among broad green leaves

Bauhinia monandra flower has pink-speckled pale petals surrounding a red upper petal with a yellow edge

Bauhinia monandra foreground flower shows pale pink-speckled petals, a red and yellow upper petal, and a long curved stamen against blue sky

Cluster of Bauhinia monandra pink flowers

Bauhinia monandra small branching tree bears broad green leaves and scattered pink flower clusters beside a path

Bauhinia monandra has pale pink flowers speckled with red and a dark central blotch

Bauhinia monandra carries several pink flowers with darker upper petals on an upright stalk