Davidia - Dove Tree
Stock photos of the Dove Tree or Handkerchief Tree (Davidia involucrata), of which there is just ones species, a deciduous, spring-flowering tree native to southwestern China. It grows to around 20m tall with a spreading crown and oval, shallowly tooth-edged leaves to 16cm long. The main feature is the spring flowers, or more accurately the large cream white bracts around the globose heads of small purple-red flowers. The paired bracts are typically around 10cm long but in some forms they can reach 20cm and are responsible for the common names of Dove Tree, because they resemble a pair of doves wings, and Handkerchief Tree, because the bracts are fancied to resemble white handkerchiefs hanging from the branches. Hard brown drupes follow the flowers and usually last through winter.
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