Scientific Name:
Davidia involucrata
Pronunciation:
duh-VID-ee-uh in-voll-you-KRAY-tuh
Common Name:
dove tree, kleenex tree, handkerchief tree
Family Name:
Nyssaceae
Plant Type:
Tree - deciduous
Key ID Features:
Leaves alternate, ovate, most blades 10-15cm long x 7-13cm wide, apex caudate, margin serrate with accuminate tips, base cordate and oblique, petioles 6-12cm long and may be pinkish; flower rounded, ~2cm wide, with many red-purple anthers and a single green ovary, two drooping creamy-white bracts 'dove wings' (one 7-10cm long and the other 15-18cm long), late spring, peduncles 5-7cm long; fruit green-brown nut-like drupe ~4cm wide, containing a single seed. Winter ID: buds plump, terminal, red bud/scales, green tip, shiny; bark orange-brown, scaly; leaf scars each with 3 bundle scars.
Habit:
Open, Spreading, Upright
Form:
Pyramidal - widely, Round, Vase
Texture:
Medium
Mature Height:
10 - 15m
Mature Spread:
7 - 10m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
S.E. Asia / Japan / China (W. China)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 6: (-23 to -18 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun only if soil kept moist, Filtered shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Acidic, Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate
Landscape Uses:
Specimen plant, Spring interest
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible
Surfaces:
Pubescent
Colour in Fall:
Orange, Red, Brown
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acuminate, Caudate
Bases:
Cordate
Margins:
Serrate
Inflorescence Type:
Spike, Head-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
0
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
May
Additional Info:
Does not flower until mature (10 years); 'heads' each with two large white bracts; single female flower surrounded by male florets
Fruit Type:
Drupe
Fruit Colour:
Dark-red, Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Not showy, Persistent, Appears nut-like when brown and mature pericarp tissue (but no husk, bracts or other accessory tissue as with true nuts)
Bark Morphology:
Plated
Bark or Stem Colour:
Grey, Orange, Brown
Leaf Bud Type:
Ovoid
Leaf Scar Shape:
Half-round
Organ Modifications:
Leaf-like bracts
Propagation:
Seed, Softwood cuttings, Hardwood cuttings, Layering
Pest Susceptibility:
(Pest resistant, Disease resistant)
Course(s):
- HORT 2355
Location(s):
- (ONE) Overpass North side East
- (TFL) Turf Field Lab
- (TFLE) Turf Field Lab East