It has long spreading branches accompanied by drooping branchlets. Its broad heart shaped leaves are 8-15cm long, with a notched leaf tip that resembles the shape of a camel's hoof. In 1965, it was chosen as the territory's representative flower and was selected to be the regional emblem of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1997.
It blooms for a considerable length of time from early November to March. As a winter flowering tree, it stands out as a spectacular display at a time when other common deciduous trees in Hong Kong have shed their leaves. The delicately scented flowers have five magneta purple spreading petals proudly shown in elongated clusters. It has no fruit in Hong Kong; it may be because the weather in Hong Kong is not suitable for developing its fruit or it is a hybrid that cannot produce seeds. The plants are reproduced artificially by vegetative propagation.
The scientific name of the Hong Kong cityflower is Bauhinia blakeana. Bauhinia is the genus name, chosen by Linnaeus to honor two French botanists who are twin brothers, with reference to the two equal lobes in leaves of this genus.
The second word in the scientific name, blakeana, is the species
epithet, chosen to honor Sir Henry Blake, Governor of Hong Kong from 1898-1903.
