Sun or partial shade. A tropical evergreen; the common name Pata de cabra (Goat’s foot) refers to the sharply cloven leaves. Pinkish-white, ribbonlike blooms appear throughout the warm season. Usually grown as a shrub, Mexican orchid tree can form a small twining tree if sufficiently protected from cold. If it freezes to the ground in winter, it will swiftly return from the roots in spring to regain a shrublike form by summer.
Mexican orchid tree attracts swarms of butterflies and hummingbirds to a sunny garden in summer and fall.