Tupelo (tree)

A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high discharge. The soils usually consist of clays, silts, sands, and gravels deposited during floods.

Because of regular flooding, floodplains frequently have high soil fertility since nutrients are deposited with the flood waters. This can encourage farming; some important agricultural regions, such as the Nile and Mississippi river basins, heavily exploit floodplains. Agricultural and urban regions have developed near or on floodplains to take advantage of the rich soil and freshwater. However, the risk of inundation has led to increasing efforts to control flooding.

Nyssaceae is a family of flowering trees sometimes included in the dogwood family (Cornaceae). Nyssaceae is composed of 37 known species in the following five genera:

• Camptotheca, the happy trees: two species in China
• Davidia, the dove tree, handkerchief tree, or ghost tree: one species in central China
• Diplopanax: two species in southern China and Vietnam
• Mastixia: about nineteen species in Southeast Asia
• Nyssa, the tupelos: about 7–10 species in eastern North America and East to Southeast Asia

Among the extinct genera of the family are Mastixicarpum, very similar to Diplopanax, and Tsukada, an extinct relative of Davidia.

Camptotheca (happy tree, cancer tree, or tree of life) is a genus of medium-sized deciduous trees growing to 20 metres (66 ft) tall, native to southern China and Tibet. The genus is usually included in the tupelo family Nyssaceae, but sometimes included (with the tupelos) in the dogwood family Cornaceae.

The name "happy tree" is a direct translation of the Chinese name xǐ shù (Simplified Chinese:喜树).

Davidia involucrata, the dove tree, ghost tree, handkerchief tree, pocket handkerchief tree, or is a medium-sized deciduous tree in the family Nyssaceae. It is the only living species in the genus Davidia. It was previously included with tupelos in the dogwood family, Cornaceae. Fossil species are known extending into the Upper Cretaceous.