Emmenopterys henryi

The emenopterys tree is in the coffee or Rhubiaceae family. It is found in the temperate parts of China and Vietnam. It can attain heights of 45 m and grow to be 1000 years old, and may not flower until it is 30-100 years old.

• Bark is grey-brown, flaking initially, rougher with age; branchlets glabrous, rather stout, with lenticels; buds are pink-tinged to red.
• Leaves are deciduous, opposite, simple, 6–30 cm long and 3.5–14.5 cm across, elliptic to ovate, tapered to the base, apex acute and sometimes abruptly acuminate, margin entire, colour often bronze on emergence, becoming dark green; upper leaf surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, undersurface usually hairy, especially on the major veins; petiole is 2–8 cm long, sometimes hairy, pink-tinged to red; stipules are caducous, triangular, 6–10 mm long, acute.
• Flowers are on the ends of leafy shoots, in flat-topped, rounded or pyramidal racemes to 50 cm across; flowers are white, heavily scented, 5-merous, about 2.5 cm across, on pedicels to 5 mm in summer. In a few scattered flowered through the inflorescence a single calyx lobe is greatly enlarged as a petaloid calycophyll to 8 cm long and 6 cm across on a stem 1–3 cm long, white at flowering time, persisting and taking on pink, red or purplish tones as fruit ripens.
• Fruit is a cylindrical or fusiform capsule to 1.5 cm long, sweetly scented, red when ripe, the apical half splitting to release broadly winged seeds.