Davidia is a monotypic genus of flowering tree in the family Nyssaceae (order Cornales), formerly placed with the tupelos in Cornaceae. Its sole living species, Davidia involucrata, is known in English as the dove tree, ghost tree, handkerchief tree, or pocket handkerchief tree. Fossil representatives of the genus extend back to the Upper Cretaceous, though only one species survives today.
The genus was described in 1871 by French botanist Henri Baillon, based on specimens collected by the missionary-naturalist Father Armand David ("Père David"), who first encountered the tree in China in 1869 at over 2,000 m altitude. The genus name honors David; the species epithet involucrata refers to the ring of bracts surrounding its flowers. The tree's discovery and introduction to Western horticulture became a celebrated episode in plant-hunting history: the botanist Augustine Henry located a specimen in the Yangtse Ichang gorges, and Ernest Henry Wilson — sent by nurseryman Sir Harry Veitch to find it — arrived to find Henry's original tree felled, but located a grove elsewhere and, after surviving a shipwreck on the return voyage, brought specimens back to Britain (one survives today at the Arnold Arboretum).
Davidia involucrata is a moderately fast-growing deciduous tree reaching 20–25 m, with toothed, alternate, ovate-cordate leaves resembling those of lime (Tilia) but symmetrical rather than lop-sided at the base. Its most distinctive feature is its inflorescence: a tight, purplish-red flower head flanked by two large, unequal, pure white bracts (12–25 cm) that flutter in the wind like doves or handkerchiefs, giving rise to the tree's common names. The fruit is a hard nut, roughly 3 cm long within a green husk, containing several seeds that can take up to three years to germinate. Two leaf forms once treated as separate varieties (densely hairy versus glabrous) are now understood to intergrade and are no longer considered taxonomically distinct.
Native to montane mixed forests of south-central and southeastern China, the species was introduced to Western cultivation in 1904 and has since become a popular ornamental tree in parks and larger gardens across Europe and North America, where the glabrous-leaved form predominates. Both the species and its cultivated variety vilmoriniana have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Etymology
The genus Davidia honors Father Armand David ("Père David"), the French missionary-naturalist who first described the tree in China in 1869; Henri Baillon formally published the genus in 1871. The species epithet involucrata means "with a ring of bracts surrounding several flowers," referring to the two large white bracts that surround the true flower head.
Distribution
Davidia involucrata, the genus's only species, is native to south-central and southeastern China, where it grows in montane mixed forests.
History
The tree was first documented by Armand David in 1869 and formally described as a new genus by Henri Baillon in 1871. Its introduction to the West is a well-known plant-hunting story: Augustine Henry rediscovered a specimen in the Yangtse Ichang gorges, and Ernest Henry Wilson, dispatched by nurseryman Sir Harry Veitch, found Henry's original tree already felled but located a grove elsewhere; Wilson survived a shipwreck on the return journey and preserved his specimens, one of which still grows at the Arnold Arboretum.
Cultivation
Introduced from China to Europe and North America in 1904, Davidia involucrata is now a popular ornamental in parks and larger gardens, with the glabrous-leaved form dominant in cultivation for its better adaptation to Western climates. The species and its cultivated variety vilmoriniana have both received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Taxonomy Notes
Davidia is monotypic, with a single living species, Davidia involucrata; fossil species of the genus are known from as far back as the Upper Cretaceous. The genus was formerly classified within the dogwood family Cornaceae (alongside the tupelos) but is now placed in Nyssaceae. Two leaf forms once treated as distinct varieties (densely pubescent var. involucrata and glabrous var. vilmoriniana) are now known to intergrade and are no longer considered taxonomically separate; both share a chromosome count of 2n = 42.
