Brazilian Butterfly Tree or Orchid Tree. This is a tropical species, but it can be grown in zone 7b as a perennial. It will usually freeze to the ground each winter but will quickly re-sprout in the spring and by mid summer it will be adorned with white orchid-like flowers. The leaves are first-look will remind one of Redbud, Cercis canadensis, but upon closer observation, one can see a notch, rather than a point, at the terminus of the leaf. It even grows somewhat like a red bud. It is thriving at the Anniston, AL, Longleaf Botanical Garden about halfway between Atlanta and Birmingham. In the tropics, it will reach medium tree proportions. Where it is killed back during the winter, one should wait until the plant begins to sprout back in the spring and then prune back the dead branches to that point. It is in the Legume family, Fabaceae, so it has the ability to appropriate atmospheric nitrogen in its growth. So it will do well with little fertilizer.
Zones 7b-11
