''Davidia involucrata'', the dove tree, ghost tree, handkerchief tree, pocket handkerchief tree, or is a medium-sized

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Nyssaceae. It is the only living species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Davidia''. It was previously included with

tupelo Tupelo commonly refers to: * Tupelo (tree), a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves * Tupelo, Mississippi, the county seat and the largest city of Lee County, Mississippi Tupelo may also refer to: Places * Tupelo, Arka ...

s in the dogwood family,

Cornaceae The Cornaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants in the order Cornales. The family contains approximately 85 species in two genera, '' Alangium'' and '' Cornus''. They are mostly trees and shrubs, which may be deciduous or evergreen, ...

. Fossil species are known extending into the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cret ...

Taxonomy

''Davidia involucrata'' is the only member of its

, but two varieties differing slightly in their leaves were formerly often distinguished, ''D. involucrata'' var. ''involucrata'', with the leaves densely pubescent on the underside, and ''D. involucrata'' var. ''vilmoriniana'', with glabrous or only thinly hairy leaves. These are now known to intergrade and are no longer considered distinct; earlier reports of differing

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

numbers between the two (which if true would prevent interbreeding) proved erroneous due to the difficulty of counting numerous small chromosomes accurately, with the species now confirmed to have 2n = 42 chromosomes.

Description

It is a moderately fast-growing tree, growing to in height, with toothed, alternate, ovate-cordate leaves superficially resembling those of a lime (''Tilia''), except that they are symmetrical, lacking the lop-sided base typical of lime leaves; the leaves are mostly 10–20 cm long and 7–15 cm wide. ''Davidia involucrata'' is best known for its

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

that features two large, white

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

, the lower almost twice the size of the upper, surrounding a purplish-red flower

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

. The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''involucrata'' means "with a ring of bracts surrounding several flowers". The true flowers form a tight head about 1–2 cm across, each flower head with a pair of large (12–25 cm), pure white

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s at the base, performing the function of petals in attracting pollinators. The inflorescences hang in long rows beneath the horizontal branches, and appear prolifically in late spring. On a breezy day, the bracts flutter in the wind like white

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

s or pinched handkerchiefs; hence the English names for this tree. The fruit is a very hard nut about 3 cm long surrounded by a green husk about 4 cm long by 3 cm wide, hanging on a 10 cm stalk. The nut contains 3–6 seeds. According to Turner and Wasson, these seeds can take as long as three years to

germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant, angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the sp ...

Distribution and habitat

''Davidia involucrata'' is

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to South Central and Southeast China. It grows in montane mixed forests.

History

The genus ''Davidia'' is named after Father

Armand David Armand David, CM (7 September 1826, Espelette – 10 November 1900, Paris) was a Lazarist missionary Catholic priest as well as a zoologist and a botanist from the French Basque Country. Several species, such as Père David's deer ...

(1826–1900; "Père David"), a French Vincentian missionary and keen naturalist who lived in China. David first described the tree in 1869 as a single tree found at over altitude, and sent dried specimens to Paris; in 1871, Henri Baillon described it as a new genus and species. The British plant hunter

Augustine Henry Augustine Henry (2 July 1857 – 23 March 1930) was a British-born Irish plantsman and sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a re ...

again found a single tree, this time in the Yangtse Ichang gorges and sent the first specimen to Kew Gardens. The plant collector

Ernest Henry Wilson Ernest Henry "Chinese" Wilson (15 February 1876 – 15 October 1930), better known as E. H. Wilson, was a British plant collector and explorer who introduced a large range of about 2,000 Asian plant species to the Western culture, West; some si ...

was employed by Sir Harry Veitch to find Henry's tree but arrived to find that it had been felled for building purposes; however, he later found a grove of the trees overhanging a sheer drop. Returning to Britain, Wilson's boat was wrecked, but he managed to save his ''Davidia'' specimens, one of which survives today in the Arnold Arboretum.

Gallery

File:Zakdoekjesboom (Davidia involucrata).jpg, Young tree in flower FIle:DavidiaInvolucrataTree.jpg, Young tree File:DavidiaInvolucrataBark.jpg, Bark File:DavidiaInvolucrataLeaf.jpg, Leaves File:Davidia involucrata MHNT.BOT.2010.4.4.jpg, ''Davidia'' fruit ( MHNT)

Fossil record

The oldest probable fossils of ''Davidia'' are permineralized fruit from the

(

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campa ...

)

Horseshoe Canyon Formation The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta. It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller. The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is part of th ...

Dinosaur Provincial Park Dinosaur Provincial Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated 220 kilometres (137 mi) east of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; or northeast of Brooks. The park is situated in the Red Deer River valley, which is noted for its striking badland topo ...

near

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often referred to as Dinosaur Vall ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Those fruit are smaller than those of ''D. involucrata'' and have fewer

locule A locule (: locules) or loculus (; : loculi) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usually refers to a chamber within an ovary ...

s, but are otherwise similar in morphology to the extant genus. In 2009, B. I. Pavlyutkin described

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

fossils in

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

and assigned them to a new species in the genus ''Davidia''.

Cultivation

The species was introduced from China to Europe and North America in 1904, and is a popular ornamental tree in parks and larger gardens. Most trees in cultivation are of the glabrous form, which has proved much better able to adapt to the climatic conditions in Europe and North America. This tree and the cultivated

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''D. involucrata'' var. ''vilmoriniana'' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

References

External links

*Schulhof, Richard
"The Dove Tree: A Long journey West."
''Arnoldia'' 63 (4) (2005). *Sun, Ji-Fan and Shuang-Quan Huang
"White Bracts of the Dove Tree (''Davidia involucrate''): Umbrella and Pollinator Lure?"
'Arnoldia' 68 (3) (2011). {{Taxonbar, from=Q334697 Nyssaceae Endemic flora of China Trees of China Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon