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Bauhinia galpinii, also named the African Plume, the Red
Orchid Tree or the Pride of De Kaap, is named after the
De Kaap valley, South of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga in the
Northeastern region of South Africa. The species epithet
"galpinii" honors Ernest Galpin (1858-1941), a
South African plant collector. It is a Southern Africa
evergreen to semi-evergreen sprawling shrub, up to 10
feet tall and 15 feet sprawl.
In its wild state this medium to large shrub behaves more
as a climber, clambering through the trees and shrubs of
the dense thicket vegetation in which it occurs. It can
be encouraged in its clambering habit to cover pergolas
or other structures and offer evergreen shade in your
garden. It doesn't have to be grown in this fashion in
your garden and with just a little pruning and training
it can easily be trained into an attractive small tree or
large garden shrub.
It produces its brick red flowers, 2.5 inches in diameter,
for a long period from Spring to Fall. The leaves are two-lobed,
grayish-green, resembling a butterfly in shape, and 2-3
cm long. The pods are straight, dark brown, 10-15 cm long
and 2-3 cm broad.
Hardiness zones 9-11, (-5°C/25°F, 5°C/40°F) in Winter.
It is hardy to drought and moderate frost, but may need
protection from frost in the first two or three years
after planting. Use sandy well drained potting soil. The
pride of De Kaap is easy to cultivate and requires little
attention once established. Grow in full sun and procure
average water.
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