Recently, you may find dove trees blooming around LongYueLou in Hangzhou Botanical Garden at the West Lake scenic area. The trees are draped with white bracts that enclose small red flowers.

Every year from April to May, the branches of dove trees will have some hanging white flowers, resembling white doves perching in the tree. After blooming, a small pear-like fruit will come out.

Hailed as the Giant Panda of plants, it is listed as one of China's Class I protected species.

The seeds of dove trees were first introduced to Hangzhou from Hubei in 1982 in order to protect the rare plant species. Up to date, a studio in the Hangzhou Botanical Garden for rare and endangered species has successfully cultivated more than 20 dove seedlings.