It is a world-famous ornamental tree species, the family of sapphires is a deciduous tree, tall and tall, 15-20 meters high, 25 meters thin, and about 1 meter in diameter. Nicknames: pear, pigeon tree, pigeon flower tree. It is a relict species of the Cenozoic Tertiary Paleoclitic flora 60 million years ago. It is only distributed in the local mountainous areas of Hubei, Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Gansu and other places.
It occupies the position of "flower queen" in the history of plants in the world. The flowers bloom like the wings of a white pigeon and the inflorescence resembles the head of a white pigeon. Every year in the late spring and early summer, when the flowers bloom, it is like a flock of pigeons gathering to perch on the branches, white and elegant, the breeze blows slowly, the flowers sway, like white pigeons flapping their wings and dancing. Foreigners hail it as the "Chinese pigeon tree", and botanists call it "Miss Only", "Living Fossil", and "Green Panda".
In fact, there are no petals. White and beautiful flowers, which are actually large white bracts under the inflorescence, are often mistaken for "petals" because of their shape like petals, pure and beautiful.
The picture below shows the appearance of guizhou Fanjing Mountain scenic spot when the tree grows and blossoms. ⬇️
The fruit is an oval stone fruit with a thick, cylindrical stem. The fruiting period is October.
It prefers to grow in mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous broad-leaved forests at an altitude of 1500-2200 m. It grows in moist and humid air, preferring soils with neutral or slightly acidic humus. Poor growth in dry, windy, direct sunlight. Intolerant of barrenness and drought. Seedlings grow slowly and prefer shade and dampness. Adult trees tend to be happy.
Known as "living fossils of plants", it is a treasure in the national 8 kinds of first-class key protected plants, because its flower shape resembles a flying white pigeon, and it has been named "Chinese pigeon tree" by Western botanists. Due to deforestation and the excavation of wild seedlings for planting, the number is small and the distribution range is shrinking day by day, and if protection measures are not taken, there is a risk of being replaced by other broad-leaved forest species. Therefore, it has been designated as a "national level key protected plant".
It is a world-famous and precious ornamental tree, often planted near pools, streams and near sanatoriums, hotels and exhibition halls, and has a symbolic meaning of peace.
Light and soft, the wood does not crack after drying, and is an ideal wood for furniture, boxboards, carvings, and toys.
The image comes from the Internet.