Guizhou's millennium-old Emmenopterys henryi tree enters full bloom

A thousand-year-old Emmenopterys henryi tree in Shiqian County in southwest China's Guizhou Province, has recently entered its peak blooming period.  

The tree is covered with numerous flowers, and its crown is blanketed in white and yellow funnel-shaped blossoms. Persistently enlarged, leaf-like calyx lobes interspersed among the flowers present gradients of color, ranging from white and pale yellow to light red. When a gentle breeze blows, the fragrance of the flowers fills the air, creating a vivid, natural scene.

This Emmenopterys henryi tree has a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 1.51 meters, a height of 20 meters, and a crown width of 10.8 meters. At over 1,000 years old, it is currently the largest example of the species in China based on DBH.

As a national second-class key protected wild plant, Emmenopterys henryi features large, spectacular flowers that that bloom every two to four years for around 15 to 20 days.

Endowed with a unique geographical location and climatic conditions, Shiqian County has nurtured an abundance of these trees, earning it the nickname "the hometown of Emmenopterys henryi in China." According to statistics, the distribution area spans 927 square kilometers and has 267 ancient trees. Of these, 2,796 have a DBH of over 0.2 meters, and 61,596 have a DBH under 0.2 meters.