Hong Kong Orchid Tree (Bauhinia × blakeana)

Hong Kong Orchid Tree, our flower emblem; something everyone has been seeing a lot lately, whether on television or the Internet. Turns out this species emerging from the crowd, earning the title of “Hong Kong’s Representative”, has a story to do with our very own Lung Fu Shan.

The Latin name for Hong Kong Orchid Trees is Bauhinia x blakeana, the “x” indicating the species as a hybrid not usually present in nature.

A father from the Missions étrangères de Paris found the Hong Kong Orchid Tree by the seaside of Pok Fu Lam towards the end of the 19th Century. This accidental hybrid of the Purple Camel’s Foot and the Camel's Foot Tree is an extreme rarity in nature. Captured by its beauty, the father broke off a branch to replant in the Bethanie. Later in 1908, the tree was certified as a hybrid of Bauhinia by Mr. S. T. Dunn, the then Superintendent of the Botanical and Afforestation Department. The plant was then named Bauhinia x blakeana, after the former governor Sir Henry Blake, who had a passion for research of plants.

As hybrids are infertile, the Hong Kong Orchid Tree has to be artificially fertilized. The reproduction methods most commonly used including layering, cutting and grafting; therefore, a joint can found on the trunks of all artificially fertilized Hong Kong Orchids. Most of the time Hong Kong Orchid Tree do not produce fruits (pods) and seeds, sometimes produce pods but with no seeds or with seeds that cannot germinate, therefore infertile.

The Hong Kong Orchid Tree has a fairly long flowering period: from November to March of the following year. It was chosen as the Hong Kong flower emblem in 1965, becoming the main pattern on the regional flag and regional emblem in 1997. The government had hoped to popularize the plant, planting over 110 thousand trees in urban areas within 5 years. The former Chief Executive’s wife Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping was even extremely enthusiastic about the establishment of a “Hong Kong Orchid Tree garden”, contributing in ways like consulting for voluntary organizations that support the building of a “City of Hong Kong Orchid Tree”.

The Lung Fu Shan Country Park was established the year after the retrocession of Hong Kong (1998). The Community Chest and the government jointly planted over 100 Hong Kong Orchid Trees on the mountain for the “Hong Kong Orchid Tree Festival” in 2001; because of the planting, Lung Fu Shan is said to be the country park with the greatest number of Hong Kong Orchid Trees.

Yet later tree specialists discovered that the Hong Kong Orchid Trees and trees of the Bauhinia genus have fragile woods and collapse easily. Its inability to withstand the windy season makes it simply unsuitable for territory-wide planting in Hong Kong. If Hong Kong faces more and more wind storms, the Hong Kong Orchid Trees may slowly disappear.

We can identify plants from the Bauhinia genus by observing their flowers. Purple Camel’s Foot is the most easily identifiable, the petals are long, thin, and pink, with only three stamens and relatively unclear nectar guides. The Hong Kong Orchid Tree and the Camel Foot’s Tree are both purple with five stamen, with the former’s flowers taking on a purplish red, deeper color.

Purple Camel's Foot (Bauhinia purpurea)

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From left

1-2. Note that the colour depth of Purple Camel's Foot shows difference.

2. Distinguish Purple Camel's Foot from the Camel Foot's Tree by checking the number of stamens. Purple Camel's Foot has three, while Camel Foot's Tree has five.

3. Pods of Purple Camel's Foot.

Camel Foot's Tree (Bauhinia variegata)

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From left

1-2. Camel Foot's Tree also shows difference in colour depth. Five stamens can be seen clearly from the photos, allowing us to distinguish it from Purple Camel's Foot.

3. The pod of Camel Foot's Tree.