The genus Bauhinia was established by Linnaeus in 1753 and commemorates the brothers Caspar and Johan Bauhin, both botanists and herbalists, the characteristic paired leaves being a reflection of their relationship. Bauhinia bowkeri was first collected by Colonel James Henry Bowker (1822-1900), a farmer and soldier, but also a naturalist and an authority on butterflies, who collected the specimen near Fort Bowker on the Mbashe River in the Eastern Cape. The Afrikaans common name beesklou (cattle foot) is applied to most of the bauhinias and refers to the resemblance of the leaf to the spoor (footprint) of cloven-hoofed animals. The prefix Kei (rhymes with the greeting "hi") refers to the region along the east coast of South Africa on both sides of the Kei River, roughly from East London to Port St Johns.

Many of the almost 300 species of Bauhinia are popular garden subjects because of their decorative foliage and ornamental flowers and are widely grown in sub-tropical or tropical regions of the world. Most bauhinias are woody shrubs, some climbing with tendrils or scrambling and some are small trees. The most commonly cultivated is Bauhinia variegata, the orchid tree, originally from India and China. There are seven bauhinias that are indigenous to southern Africa, and all show horticultural promise. The most well-known and widely cultivated is the pride-of-De Kaap, Bauhinia galpinii, bearing masses of bright orange-red flowers in summer. There is also the yellow bauhinia or bosbeesklou, Bauhinia tomentosa, a large shrub or small tree with bell-shaped yellow flowers; the Kalahari white bauhinia or koffiebeesklou, Bauhinia petersiana, a scrambling shrub or small tree with very crinkled white flowers which is divided into two sub-species Bauhinia petersiana subsp. macrantha which has broader petals, a smaller habit and occurs in north-western parts of South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Angola, and Bauhinia petersiana subsp. petersiana, which is usually a small tree and occurs in north eastern Zimbabwe, Mozambique and northwards; the KwaZulu-Natal white bauhinia, Bauhinia natalensis a dainty shrub with bell-shaped white flowers; and the pink bauhinia or sandbeesklou Bauhinia urbaniana a shrub or bushy tree with rose-pink flowers from north-eastern Namibia. After the pride-of-De Kaap, Bauhinia bowkeri is the most striking and although still uncommon in cultivation, it is gaining popularity.