The blooming P.lannesiana attracted many people.

The unique davidia involucrata baill.

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- When we mention the living fossils of the animal kingdom, everyone will suddenly think of pandas, our national treasure, but not many people know the living fossil of plant kingdom. In the greenhouse of Nanshan Botanical Garden in Chongqing, davidia involucrata baill which is the national key protected wild plant and is hailed as the “Dove Tree in China”. Now, it blossoms!

Unique flowers just like “flying white doves”

The beautiful scenery makes people linger on.

“Do you know? The davidia involucrata baill in the greenhouse are blooming.” When the reporter has just entered the Nanshan Botanical Garden, Wen Wei, the director of the Botanical Garden Greenhouse, took him excitedly to watch it. Davidia involucrata baill is a relic species of paleotropical flora from the Tertiary Period. During the Quaternary glacial period, temperatures dropped; one-third of the earth was covered with snow and ice; most plants became extinct; most of the davidia involucrata baill around the world died out. Only a few of them survived in some parts of southern China. “In the past, everyone thought that the davidia involucrata baill had disappeared from the earth. In 1864, people collected specimens of davidia involucrata baill, but there were few outdoor distributions.” On the way, Wen Wei introduced this valuable plant to the reporter.

Under the blooming davidia involucrata baill tree, many tourists gathered to take pictures. With green leaves, small flowers and large white sepals, it is also known as the “Dove Tree”. With the breeze, the flowers look like pigeons flapping their wings. The color of davidia involucrata baill changes from the beginning to the end. So they are called a "unique flower." “They do not bloom every year. It usually takes two or three years to open once, mainly in March and April.” After Wen Wei's introduction, many tourists nearby came to know the preciousness of the tree.