CHAPTEK III. 



I. Simple Alternate Leaves. 



1. Without teeth. B. Edge divided. 



THE TULIP TREE AND SASSAFRAS. 



Tulip Tree ^ HE tu ^P tree * 8 a ^ so known a8 white- 



Whitewood. wood, but this name is commonly ap- 



Mriodendron plied to the lumber. The wood, 



Tulipifera. . . 



however, is lar from white; it is 



rather dull greenish yellow, sparingly streaked here 



and there with dark or blackish brown. This tree is 



often a remarkable sight in May or June, with its 



countless greenish-yellow " tulips," touched inside 



with orange, which measure four or more inches 



across. The whole effect of color is worth study. 



It is as aesthetic and lovely as it is curious amid the 



plainer green of other trees. 



The tulip tree attains a gigantic size in the South 



and West ; it measures not infrequently 140 feet 



in height and eight feet in diameter; sometimes 



specimens are found which are 160 to 190 feet in 



height. The trunk often carries an almost uniform 



36 



