The China History Podcast · Laszlo Montgomery

Ep. 360 | Plant Hunters during the Qing Dynasty (Part 2)

·44 min·2 clips

Ernest Wilson found the stump of Davidia involucrata before locating a grove of 11 flowering trees.

The episode begins by treating plant hunting in China as something almost incidental. Portuguese Jesuits and other early visitors gathered plants while they were there for other reasons. That kind of botanizing was opportunistic, not yet a specialized trade. By the mid-1800s, the situation had shifted. Trained botanists were arriving in China in greater numbers. Treaty-port access made the country much easier to work in. Robert Fortune’s success between 1843 and 1851 helped establish China as a major destination for plant collectors. After 1860, the opening became wider still under the pressure of unequal treaties and foreign power. The episode frames that period as the moment plant hunting became far more common and accessible. From there, the story turns to the practical path of discovery. Augustine Henry comes in as one of the key figures who understood where the botanical action was. Ernest Wilson then enters with a very specific assignment. He is sent after Davidia Invalocrata, the handkerchief tree, or ghost tree, or dove tree. The map he gets is vague enough to be almost funny. It covers more than 50,000 square miles. He heads to Yichang anyway. With guides and collectors helping him, he keeps working the mountains above Hubei. On April 25, 1900, he reaches the place Henry had indicated. What he finds is only a stump. A local resident had already cut the tree down and used the wood to build a house. Wilson keeps moving. A few weeks later he finds a grove of 11 handkerchief trees in full flower. The episode makes clear these were not small shrubs tucked into a hedge. The trees could reach 60 to 80 feet. Wilson records the find carefully with notes and drawings. He also gathers as many seeds as he can carry and sends them back to the UK. The story lingers on how much of Wilson’s fame rested on this discovery. It also leaves some space for the idea that parts of the tale may have grown more dramatic over time. Even so, the episode makes the importance of the find plain. Wilson became one of James Veach and Sons’ most successful collectors. The close of the episode opens back out to the larger topic. There is more plant-hunting history here than one show can easily contain. The result is a dense, chronological pass through empire, collecting, and one very famous tree.

As heard by us

A focused look at Qing-era plant hunting, imperial access, and the chase for Davidia involucrata.

The episode follows Qing-era plant hunting as it shifts from a sideline into a more organized imperial system, with early European collectors, treaty-port access, and Robert Fortune's success setting the pace.

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Why you'd press play

You want Qing-era plant hunting with a slow discovery chase and a stubborn payoff.

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