Rare trees found in China

Over 100,000 dove trees, a rare species like the giant Panda, have been discovered in southwest China's Sichuan province, a report said on Monday.

Over 100,000 dove trees, a rare species like the giant Panda, have been discovered in Baoxing county in southwest China's Sichuan province, a report said on Monday.

The tree, whose scientific name is Davidia involucrata baill, is a monotypic genus, which means there is only one species of Davidia. It is seldom seen in such a large population in one place, Xinhua news agency reported.

The tree, which averages 15 to 30 metres in height, originated in southwest and central China and is considered as rare as the giant Panda, a highly endangered species found in southwest China.

When the tree flowers, it looks as if white doves were perching on its branches because the globes of its small flowers are held beneath two pendulous white 'leaves', known as 'bracts'.

The 100,000 trees were found earlier this year in a valley called Ganyanggou in Longdong, a small town in Baoxing.

Baoxing county, in the western part of Sichuan, is well known for its rare, ancient plants and animals since this area escaped the onslaught of glaciers in the quaternary Ice Age, according to local biologists.