DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 87 



a bloom, downy beneath, 4-6 in. long. Flowers white, fragrant, 2-3 

 in. in diameter; petals 9, concave. Cone l|^-2 in. long, pink. Com- 

 mon in swamps and along streams, New York and southward (a 

 few in eastern Massachusetts). The leaves often used in flavoring- 

 soups, etc. 



II. LIRIODENDRON, L. 



A large tree with rough, dark-colored bark. Leaves scat- 

 tered on the branches, deciduous, 3-lobed, truncate, stipuled, 

 petioled. Flowers perfect. Sepals 3, reflexed. Petals 6, 

 erect. Stamens numerous. Ovaries numerous, 2-ovuled, 

 cohering over each other on the elongated receptacle, never 

 opening, deciduous.^ 



1. L. tulipifera, L. Tulip Tree. The largest tree in the family. 

 Leaves roundish in outline, mostly 3-lobed, the terminal lobe trun- 

 cate or broadly notched, usually heart-shaped at the base, smooth, 

 green above, lighter beneath. Petioles slender. Flowers terminal, 

 bell-shaped, greenish-yellow marked with orange. Petals obovate, 

 obtuse, about as long as the sepals. Mature cones ovate, acute, 

 2—3 in. long. Common on low ground, Pennsylvania and S. Often 

 called <' white wood" or, incorrectly, "white poplar." Wood valua- 

 ble for making boxes and light furniture.* 



35. CALYCANTHACE^. Calycanthus Family. 



Shrubs. Leaves opposite, entire, without stipules. Flowers 

 solitary, often sweet-scented. Sepals and petals numerous, 

 the outer sepals bract-like. Stamens many, short, the inner 

 ones usually sterile. Ovaries several, inserted on the inside 

 of an irregular, hollow, pear-shaped receptacle something like 

 a large rose-hip, forming 1-seeded akenes in fruit. 



CALYCANTHUS, L. 



Shrubs, 4-8 ft. tall ; branches opposite. Leaves oval, 

 downy beneath, short-petioled ; both leaves and bark aro- 

 matic. Sepals and petals many, in several rows, somewhat 

 fleshy, indistinguishable. Pistils several, inserted on the 

 inner side of the persistent calyx-tube. Mature fruit pear- 

 shaped, dry, enclosing the akenes.* 



