CHINA'S TREES AND OURS 



STRIKINGLY ALIKE 



Three American Trees Have Their Only Non-American Relatives in China -Two 



Continents Probably Connected in Geologic Times Isolation in Different 



Environments Has Not Produced Marked Changes in Trees 



Si: PAR ATI-: D by eight thousand 

 miles of ocean, and four thousand 

 miles of land, the eastern part of 

 North America and the forest 

 areas of China present some striking 

 resemblances in vegetation. Three 

 species of forest trees which grow wild 

 in both China and the United States, 

 but nowhere else, are particularly note- 

 worthy. They are the Tulip Poplar 

 ilJriodendron sp.), the Sassafras (Sas- 

 safras sp.), and the Hickory (Carya sp.). 



ONLY TWO TULIP POPLAR SPECIES 



The American Tulip Poplar {Lirio- 

 dctidron tnlipifcra) is one of the most 

 beautiful of native flowering trees, its 

 clean growth and handsome flowers 

 making it justly admired (Fig. 9). 

 The flowers greatly resemble the tulip 

 and the young growth is very similar 

 to that of the poplar. It is often 

 known as "whitewood" in the West. 

 The flowers are borne on the young 

 growth of the current season and are 

 bell-shaped and upright, being of a 

 greenish-yellow color, orange within 

 the base, solitary and entirely odorless. 

 The leaves are a bluish-green and 

 are borne on long stems, adding much 

 to the beauty of the tree. 



Its entire appearance is similar to 

 that of the Magnolia, and this is not to 

 be wondered at, since both belong to 

 the order Magnoliaceac. The tree is 

 one of the fastest growing, tallest, and 

 largest of any of the forest trees. In 

 a contest held by this Association in 

 1915, a Tulip Poplar di.scovered by 

 John R. Hess, of Providence, R. L, 

 proved to be the tallest tree reported 

 in this country. It was 19S feet in 

 height, with a circumference 4 feet 

 alK)ve the ground of 34 feet 6 inches. 

 272 



Of course, when the tree attains such 

 an enormous height, it is almost im- 

 possible to see the flowers, and hence 

 many of the young trees are headed 

 when desired for ornamental ]jurposes, 

 thus being induced to keep a rounded 

 outline and bear their flowers where 

 they can be seen. The tree may be 

 readily grown from seed. 



The Chinese species, the only other of 

 the genus (L. chinensis, Fig. 10), may 

 well be called the Chinese counterpart of 

 the American tree, for although it does 

 not attain the immense height reached 

 by the species in this country, the leaves 

 are much the same shape, the flowers 

 only a little smaller and the fruit some- 

 w^hat elongate, the changes as a whole 

 being trivial. It can be readily grafted 

 on the American species. It grows rap- 

 idly when young, sometimes as much as 

 3 or 4 feet in one 3'car. It is of vigorous 

 constitution, and thrives best in good 

 loamy soil. 



ONLY TWO SASSAFRAS SPECIKS 



Due to its aromatic fragrance and the 

 peculiarly piquant taste of leaves and 

 bark, the Sassafras is a tree that is not 

 soon forgotten by anyone who has ever 

 made its acquaintance. A deciduous 

 tree, the American species (Sassafras 

 sassafras. Fig. 11) reaches a height of 

 50 to 70 feet, and a circumference of 

 more than 14 feet was reported from 

 Horsham, Pa., where the largest speci- 

 men in this country appears to exist. 



The young shoots are sj^arsely downy 

 at first, but later lose this characteristic. 

 The flowers are greenish-yellow, pro- 

 duced in May, the sexes usually being 

 on sei)arate trees. The fruit is a dark 

 l)lue, roundish oval, three-quarters of 

 an inch long. The tree can withstand 



