D893: Davidia involucrata

This is truly one of Herefordshire’s ‘Remarkable’ trees for its height and canopy spread, and its wonderful spring display.

Originating from SC & SE China where they grow in mountainous mixed forests, this particular tree was planted at Queenswood in 1965, and many may know this species as a Dove or Ghost Tree because of the way the large white ‘petals’, or rather the showy modified leaves known as bracts hang and move in the wind; they act just like petals by protecting and attracting insects to the tiny flowers at their centre.

In the mid-1800s, the genus Davidia was named after Father Armand David, a French Vincentian missionary and keen naturalist based in China, who first discovered a single specimen growing 2,000m above sea level, and sent dried specimens to Paris where it was studied and described as a new genus and species.

As well as cherished for their beauty, Handkerchief trees do also support UK wildlife by providing pollen-rich flowers which attract various bee species and other pollinators in May, whilst their green small fruits provide food for wildlife in the autumn.

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6 Figure Grid SO506513