LIRIODENDRON. 73 



Preparations. There are no official preparations. The bark yields its 

 virtues readily to diluted alcohol, and a tincture prepared by means of 

 this menstruum is an eligible form in which to administer the drug. It 

 may also be given in powder or infusion, though in the latter form the 

 aromatic property is greatly diminished. A tincture of the seeds is also 

 said to be an efficient preparation. 



Medical Properties and Uses. Magnolia is 'an aromatic bitter tonic. 

 If administered freely it may induce diaphoresis and thus be useful in 

 febrile affections. It is said to exert an antiperiodic influence in inter- 

 mittent and remittent fevers, and has long been a favorite domestic 

 remedy for these diseases in regions where the bark is readily accessible. 

 Even in full doses it produces none of the disagreeable cephalic effects 

 of cinchona, and therefore is worthy of trial when from any reason the 

 latter or its alkaloids cannot be borne. It has been used with asserted 

 benefit in both acute and chronic rheumatism. In some forms of dyspep- 

 sia it is also commended. 



LIRIODENDRON. 



Liriodendron Tulipifera Linne. Tulip Tree. 



Description. Calyx : sepals 3, oblong, obtuse, concave, spreading, 

 petal-like, deciduous. Corolla : petals 6, in two rows, oblong, obtuse, 

 concave at the base, 2 inches long, greenish-yellow marked with orange, 

 slightly spreading, forming a bell-shaped flower. Stamens numerous, 

 hypogynous, shorter than the petals, inserted upon a conical receptacle ; 

 anthers linear, opening outward. Pistils numerous, flat, long and nar- 

 row, imbricating and cohering together, forming an elongated cone. 

 Fruit cone-shaped, made up of numerous imbricated, 1-celled, 2 -seeded, 

 indehiscent, samara-like seed-vessels, which are in form lanceolate, com- 

 pressed, and at the base triangular and tumid. The entire mass of seed- 

 vessels is coherent until maturity, when they fall from the stems in a 

 body or separate from each other and fall singly. 



A large tree, often attaining the height of 100 feet, with a diameter 

 at the base of 4 or 5 feet. In very favorable circumstances it has been 

 known to grow much larger, attaining a height of 140 feet, with a diam- 

 eter of 8 or 9 feet. The trunk is nearly straight, the branches some- 

 what scattered, and, compared with the size of the tree, rather small below 

 but larger toward the top. When growing in the forest the stem for 

 thirty or forty feet is, in general, free of branches, but under other circum- 

 stances the lowest branches are much nearer the ground. The leaves are 

 alternate, on long foot-stalks, and when fully grown are from 4 to 8 inches 

 in length, by about the same in breadth, somewhat cordate at the base and 

 more or less deeply 4-lobed, two of the lobes being at the base and two at 

 the apex, the latter separated from each other by a broad and shallow 



