May Plant of the Month

May 2026

LATIN NAME:  Davidia involucrata ‘Sonoma’

COMMON NAME:  Dove Tree

FAMILY:  Nyssaceae

TYPE:  Deciduous Tree

ORIGIN:  Central China

LOCATION AT THE RESERVE:  Arrival Garden

GARDEN USES:  Specimen Shade Tree

FUN FACT:  The specific epithet, “involucrata”, refers to the showy white involucre ring of bracts that subtend a group of flowers. The genus name, “Davidia”, honors Abbe Armand David (1826-1900) who was a French botanist, zoologist and missionary in China. Some of the plants named after him are still very common in our gardens today, such as Acer davidii and Viburnum davidii.

–Content by Gardens North Manager Sean Peterson