Bauhinia tomentosa is a shrub or small tree reaching heights up to 4 m (SA Tree List No. 208.1). Its branches often droop.

The bi-lobed, rounded leaves have the characteristic Bauhinia shape. In the case of this species the division between the leaf lobes is about halfway up the length of the leaf, carrying a small appendage where the lobes join. The margins are entire, the leaf surface is hairless and smooth.

The species distribution is in the east of South Africa, in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo, as well as in several neighbouring countries in the tropics.

The habitat is low altitude woodland and bushveld. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; http://redlist.sanbi.org).