This is a Bauhinia, or Hong Kong Orchid Tree. 
The flowers are rather orchid like.
It is sometimes planted as a street tree, but it has these bean like pods which fall and make a mess of the sidewalk. The tree doesn't have a beautiful shape and the flowers are not fragrant, so its only redeeming feature are the wonderful abundant blossoms in the springtime.
1 comment:
Lovely! I’ve heard about Bauhinias but don’t think I’ve ever seen one. I looked up the genus in the Sunset WGB and then googled it. There are at least two specimens on the Stanford campus (zone 15?) but the species you describe is not generally hardy up here. There are several species, though, and some should work in zone 16 where I garden. The flowers are wonderful and the leaves are very cool, too!
joan
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