lì—
?
and clay ; the la tte r soil being rendered free by sand, leaf mould, o r manure,
and drainage. The situation, when the plant is treated as a bush, ought to be
open, in order th a t the wood may be rip en ed ; and the plant should he
detached, in order th a t it may be covered with foliage and blossoms on every
side. North o f London, in most situations, it requires a wall, and few p ants
are more deserving o f one. Against a wall, it will reach the height o f 15 ft.
or 20ft. In the London nurseries, it is generally propagated by layers ; but
it will also strike by cuttings, both of the ripened and the herbaceous wood.
The stools are generally formed in pits ; or, if in the open ground, they
.are covered with mats during winter. Seeds have been ripened both in England
and France ; and from these piants have been raised in some few nurseries.
The plants, whether raised from layers, cuttings, or seed, should
always be kept in pots till wanted for final planting. This species often
serves as a stock for grafting the other kinds on, which belong to this section.
G e n u s I I .
L IR IO D E 'N D R O N L . T h e T u l i p T r e e .
Gen. Char. Carpels 1—2-seeded, disposed in spikes, indehiscent, deciduous,
drawn out into a wing at the apex. Calyx o f 3 deciduous sepals. Corulla
of 6 petals, conniving into a bell-shaped flower. {Don's Mill., i. p. 8 6 .)
— There is only one species; a deciduous tree o f the first rank, native
of North America.
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; 3-lobed, the terminal lobe
emarginately truncate, the lateral ones w ith -tw o sinuses. Stipules flat.
Flowers terminal, solitary, greenish yellow, orange within. — The only species
in British gardens is tbe Liriodéndron Tulipífera.
í I. L i r i o d e ' n d r o n T u l i p i ' f e r a L. The Tulip-bearing Liriodendron, or'
Tulip Tree.
Uenlification. Liii. Sp., 756. ; Dec. P ro d ., 1. p. 82. j D o n ’s Mill., 1. p. 8G.
Synonymes. T h e Poplar, Wh ite Wood, C.inoe Wood, th e T u lip T re e , Amer. ; Virginian P opla r,
T u lip-bea ring L ily T re e , Saddle T re e , E n g . ; T u lip ie r de Virginie, F r. ; Virginischer Tu lip eerb.
iuin, Ger.
Derivation. T h is tre e is called Liriodéndron, from leirion, a lily, and denáron, a tree ; from th e
flowers resembling those of a liiy, though more correctly those of a tulip, as th e specific name im.
plies. It is called P cp la r, from its general resemblance to trees of th a t genus ; White Wood, from
2,“ '' timbe r ; Canoe Wood, from th e use to which it is applied by th e native Indians :
Tiiilp T re e , from its tulip-like flowers ; and Saddle T re e , from the form of its leaves. T h e F ren ch
and German names are lite ral transla tions of th e words Virginian tu lip tree .
E ngravings. Bot. Mag., 27.6.; D u h ., tom. 3. t. 18. ; th e plate in Arb. B rit., 1st edit, voi v. • and
o m fig . 46.
Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves smooth, truncate at the to p ; 4-lobed, resembling a
saddle in shape. Flowers large, solitary, terminal ; variegated with green,
yellow, and orange colour ; furnished with two deciduou.s bracteas under
flowers. [Don's Mill.) A smooth deciduous tree o f large size. Canada
to Florida. Height 70 ft. to 140 ft., and trunk 8 ft. to 9 ft. in diameter,
in Ame ric a ; 50 ft. to 90 ft. in England. Introduced in 1688. Flowers
greenish yellow without, orange within ; Ju n e and July. Strobile brown ;
ripe in October. Decaying leaves rid i yellow and brown. Naked young
wood smooth, and o f a mahogany brown. °
Variety.
“i L. T . 2 obtusiloba Michx., integrifòlia Hort., Yellow Wood, or Yellow
Poplar, has the leaves with blunter lobes than the species, but is in
no oth e r respect different from it.
Other Varieties. L. T. acutifòlia Michx. has never, we believe, been introduced.
L . T. flava H ort. has yellow flowers. As the tulip tree is almost
always raised from seeds, it is probable th a t the flowers o f seedlings will
111. MAGNOL/ r i 'CRoE : LIRIODE'NDRON.
vary in their shades o f colour, and any desirable variation may be perpetuated
by propagating the plant possessing it by layers or marching.
46. Lirio d én d ro n Tulipifc
In the developement o f its leaves, the tulip tre e differs from most other
trees. The leaf-biids, in general, are composed o f scales closely imbricated,
which, in the spring, are distended by the growth of th e m inute bundle o f leaves
that they enclose, till they finally fall o ff The flowers, which are large, brilliant,
and on detached trees very numeroas, are variegated with different
colours, among which yellow predominates ; they have an agreeable odour, and,
surrounded by the luxuriant foliage, they produce a fine effect. The fruit is
composed o f a great number o f thin narrow scales, attached to a common axis,
and forming a conical spike 2 or 3 inches in length. Each fruit contains 00 or
70 carpels; o f which never more than a third, and, in some seasons, not more
than seven or eight in the whole number, are matured. I t is also observed,
that, during ten years after it begins to yield fruit, almost all the seeds are unproductive
; and that, on large trees, the seeds from the highest branches are ,
the be.st. The heart, or perfect, wood o f the tulip tree is yellow, approaching
to a lemon colour ; and its sap, or alburnum, is white. The annual shoots of
young piants, in the neighbourhood o f London, are from 18 in. to 2 ft. in
le n g th ; and the tree will, in favourable circumstances, attain the height of
from 15 ft. to 20 ft. in ten years ; seldom, however, flowering till it is upwards
of twenty years old. The height, in England, fre<|uently exceeds 70 ft. ; and
it has ripened seeds hei’e, occasionally, fi’om which young plants have been
raised. I t ripens its fruit very generally in France ; though it is observed, in
the Nouveau Du Hamel, th a t these seeds do not vegetate so freely as those
which are imported from America. Deep, loamy, good soil best suits the
tulip tree ; and the situation most favourable is one which, while it is sheltered
from high winds, is, a t the same time, sufficiently exposed to the light and air
to admit ot the maturation of its leaves on every side, and the perfect ripening
o f its wood, without which it can neither resist the severe frosts of winter,
nor form blos.som buds. The species is seldom, if ever, propagated otherwise
than by seeds, which come up best in heath soil, very fine mould, or sandy
loam, in a shady situation, kept ra th e r m o is t; but the varieties are multiplied
by la)’ei's or inarching. When the seeds are sown in autumn, they generally
come up the following spring ; but, sown in spring or the beginning of summer,
they generally reni’din a year in the ground. The tulip tree, like the magnolias,
having roots furnished W’ith but few fibres, does not transplant re ad ily ; and,
therefore, the plants ought either to be kept in pots, or, if in the free ground,
transplanted in the nursery every y e ar; or, if neither o f these modes be practicable,
removed to their final situation, when not more than tw'o, or a t most
three, years old. The tree is, like the magnolias, not very patient of the knife,
either in a young or in an old s ta te ; and, from the b itte r qualities o f the
P 3