The dove (handkerchief) tree
Davidia involucrata
It comes from the mountains of Asia, and was named after the French missionary Armand David, who brought it to Europe. This delicate little tree has heart-shaped leaves and unique flowers in the form of brown spherical clusters with a pair of white bracts at the base which look like handkerchiefs. In China the Davidia is sometimes called the tree of spirits or of farewells.
This came true in a special way in the case of the specimen planted in Lusławice, which only came into flower for the first time in the spring following Penderecki’s death. Previously it had struggled with the Polish frost but managed to recover in the end.