A Tree to Covet

For only the second time in 15 years or so, have I managed to be at the National Arboretum in Washington DC when the Dove Tree was in bloom.  And here it is, covered in white, leaf-like bracts, a sight that will simply take your breath away when you see one in full bloom.  It's also sometimes known as the Handkerchief Tree or the Ghost Tree.  Whatever you call it, it's a true specimen that would look great if tucked into a corner in front of an evergreen hedge where the white bracts would show up beautifully.  If you've ever seen one of these trees in full bloom, you'll surely want to find a place for it in your own yard, and well ... nobody else is going to have one.   

The arboretum's tree is located in Asian Valley, just a bit to the right of the parking area.  the amazing thing is that several visitors walked right by without even looking up.  How you could fail to notice this tree is simply beyond me. The Dove Tree (Davidia involucrata) has bright green leaves, is hardy to Zone 6, is pyramidal in shape, and reaches a size of about 20 to 40 feet high and wide.

According to Michael Dirr in his Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, noted plant explorer EH Wilson traveled to a remote area of China and sent seeds to England for propagation in 1899-1901.  The trip was financed by England's Veitch Nursery, whose owner urged Wilson to make the Dove Tree the focus of his expedition, since the most desirable plants from China had already been introduced.  They apparently did not know that the tree had already been introduced in 1870 by the French nursery Vilmorin via the French missionary Farges.  Only one of the French seeds germinated -- in 1899, and the tree first flowered in 1906.  Wilson's seed produced a tree that flowered for the first time in 1911.

(click on images to enlarge)