MAGNOLIACEAE

Tulip Poplar. Tulip-tree. White-wood

Liriodendron tulipifera L.

HABIT.—A large tree 70-100 feet high, with a columnar trunk 2-5 feet in diameter; forming a rather open, conical crown of slender branches.

LEAVES.—Alternate, simple, 5-6 inches long and broad; 4-lobed; entire; lustrous, dark green above, pale or glaucous beneath, turning clear yellow in autumn; petioles slender, angled, 5-6 inches long.

FLOWERS.—May-June, after the leaves; perfect; terminal; solitary on stout peduncles; tulip-shaped, greenish yellow, 1-1/2-2 inches long; sepals 3, greenish, early deciduous; petals 6, in 2 rows, greenish yellow with an orange spot at the base, early deciduous; stamens numerous, somewhat shorter than the petals; pistils numerous, clinging together about a central axis; ovary 1-celled.

FRUIT.—September-October; a narrow, light brown cone 2-1/2-3 inches long, composed of numerous carpels; carpels long, flat, with a 1-2-seeded nutlet at the base, separating from the slender spindle at maturity.

WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud 1/2-1 inch long, obtuse, flattish, dark red, covered with a glaucous bloom.

BARK.—Twigs smooth, lustrous, reddish, becoming brownish, and at length gray; ashy gray, thin and scaly on young trunks, becoming thick, brownish, and deeply furrowed with age.

WOOD.—Light, soft, brittle, weak, easily worked, light yellow or brown, with thin, cream-white sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.—Lower Peninsula south of the Grand River. Formerly common, but becoming rare.

HABITAT.—Prefers deep, rich, rather moist soil, but adapts itself readily to any good, light soil.

NOTES.—Difficult to transplant, but rapid of growth when once established. Not disfigured by insect enemies. Good for ornamental planting.