Handkerchief Tree Seeds...or Christmas Baubles?!

There's a "Handkerchief Tree" (Davidia Involucrata) in the quadrangle at Newcastle University. As I walked past it this morning the sun was shining nicely on the hanging seeds.

I've posted a couple more shots in flickr here, as I was amused that, when viewed as whole, the tree looks as if it has Christmas baubles on it (maybe it doesn't know that we're now past twelfth night!).

When it's in bloom, the flowers really do look like handkerchiefs - I'll try to capture a shot of it later in the year.