1890 



LIRIODENDRON 



LISIANTHUS 



LIRIODENDRON (lirion, lily, and dendron, tree; 

 referring to the shape of the flowers). Magnoliaceas. 

 TULIP TREE. WHITEWOOD. YELLOW POPLAR. Orna- 

 mental trees grown for their handsome foliage and large 

 tulip-like flowers. 



Deciduous: Ivs. alternate, long-petioled, 2-6-lobed, 

 with conspicuous deciduous stipules cohering when 

 young and inclosing the next If. : fls. terminal, solitary, 

 with 3 spreading sepals and 6 erect, broadly ovate 

 petals; stamens numerous, with long and linear anthers; 

 pistils numerous, forming a narrow column, develop- 

 ing into a light brown cone; at maturity the carpels, 

 each consisting of a long, narrow wing with a 1-2- 

 seeded nutlet at the base, separate from the slender 

 spindle. Two species in N. Amer. and China. 



2183. Tulip tree. Liriodendron Tulipifera. 



Only the native species, one of the noblest trees of the 

 American forest, is well known in cultivation. It is a 

 hardy beautiful tree of pyramidal habit, well adapted 

 for park-planting and for avenues, with handsome, 

 clean foliage of unusual shape and of rather light 

 bluish green color, rarely attacked by insects or fungi, 

 assuming in fall a brilliant yellow color; the tulip-like 

 flowers, though of not very showy color are conspicu- 

 ous by their size and shape. The tulip tree is also an 

 important forest tree, and the soft, fine-grained, light 

 yellow wood is much used in carpentry for furniture, 

 boat-building and the manufacture of small articles; 

 it does not split easily but is readily worked and bent 

 to any required shape. The inner bark is said to have 

 medical properties. The tulip tree grows best in deep, 

 rich and somewhat moist soil. Transplanting is not 

 easy; it is best done in spring, just before the tree 

 starts into new growth. Propagate by seeds sown in 

 fall or stratified and sown in spring; varieties are usu- 

 ally grafted or budded on seedling stock, rarely propa- 

 gated by layers. The seeds are sometimes hollow, espe- 

 cially those grown along the eastern limit of the species. 



Tulipifera, Linn. Fig. 2183. Tall tree, to 150, rarely 

 to 190 ft., with a trunk to 10 ft. diam., often destitute 

 of branches for a considerable height, glabrous: Ivs. 

 about as broad as long, with 2 lobes at the truncate 

 and notched apex and 2-4 lobes at the base, bluish 

 green above, pale or glaucous beneath, 5-6 in. long: 

 fls. greenish yellow, marked orange within at the base, 



in. long; petals ovate or oval; fertile carpels 

 acute. May, June. Mass, to Wis., south to Fla. and 

 Miss. S.S. 1:13. Em. 2:605. B.M. 275. Gng. 7:259. 

 A.G. 1892:485. Mn. 2, p. 4; 6, p. 145. Gn. 34, p. 

 42; 76, p. 646. F.S.R. 2, pp. 5, 7; 3, p. 203. G.C. III. 

 55:255. V. 20:86. Var. pyramidale, Lav. (var. 

 fastigidtum, Hort.). With upright branches, forming a 

 narrow pyramid. Var. integrifdlium, Kirchn. Lvs. 

 rounded at the base without lobes. Var. obtusilpbum, 

 Pursh. Lvs. with only 1 rounded lobe on each side of 

 the base. Var. contortum, Goeschke. Lvs. with 2 

 lobes on each side, twisted so that the upper lobes often 

 form a right angle to the lower ones. There are also 

 several vars. with variegated Ivs., of which var. aureo- 

 marginatum, Hort. (var. panache, Hort.), with Ivs. 

 edged yellow, is one of the best. F.S. 19:2025; 

 20:2081. In the Middle West, liriodendron is 

 universally known as white wood. To lumbermen 

 in the East it is known as poplar and tulip 

 poplar. 



L. chinense, Sarg. (L. Tulipifera var. chinense, Hemsl.). 

 Tree, to 50 ft.: Ivs. with 4 acute or acuminate lobes, 

 rounded or slightly cordate at the base, 5-6 in. long: fls. 

 1-1 }/~i in. long: cone slenderer, the fertile carpels obtuse or 

 obtusish at the apex. Cent. China. G.C. III. 34:370; 

 44:429. S.T.S. 1:52. H.I. 28:2785. Seems somewhat 

 tenderer than the native species. ALFRED R EHDER . 



LIRIOPE (named after the nymph Liriope). 

 Lilidceas. A tender violet-flowered cultivated 

 plant from China and Japan. 



Plants of somewhat doubtful affinity, having 

 been referred to different families: rhizome short 

 and thick, often stolonif erous : st. very short, the 

 Ivs. narrow and crowded, the fls. on simple 

 scapes, small, violet or whitish; segms. distinct; 

 stamens 6, hypogynous; ovary 3-celled, each cell 

 2-ovuled. Species about 3, China, Japan, Philippines. 

 Little cult. 



graminifolia, Baker (L. spicata, Lour. Dracaena 

 graminifolia, Linn.). Lvs. all radical, linear-lanceolate, 

 obtuse, 3-nerved, with a few brown scales at the base: 

 stamens 6; style columnar; ovary 3-celled. B.R. 593, 

 (as Ophiopogon spicatus). Var. densiflora, Hort. (L. 

 spicata var. densiflora, Wright) is presumably the best 

 form. B.M. 5348 (as Ophiopogon spicatus). There 

 are several forms of this species, as: Var. minor (L. 

 spicatus var. minor, Wright). L.B.C. 7:694 (as Ophio- 

 pogon spicatus) ; var. koreana (Wright) ; var. interme- 

 dia (Maxim.). L. graminifolia should perhaps be 

 grown in the greenhouse. It is 1 ft. or more high, 

 with grass-like foliage and 1 or 2 scapes overtopping 

 the Ivs., which bear from July to Sept. as many as 90 

 violet-colored fls. in a spike-like raceme 6-12 in. long 

 and 1 in. wide. The fls. are less than Hin. across, 6- 

 parted and arranged in groups of 3-5 along the raceme. 

 They vary from dark purple through violet to whitish. 

 The deepest color is the finest, and is set off by the 

 yellow anthers. WILHELM MILLER. 



L. H. B.f 



LISIANTHUS (Greek compound). Gentianacex. 

 About 10 species in the W. Indies and Cent. Amer., 

 herbs or shrubs with mostly rather large yellow-green, 

 brown-black or rarely white fls. in cymose clusters, and 

 opposite Ivs. None of the species seems to be in the 

 trade, although L. Russellidnus, Hook. (L. erythropen- 

 sis, Hort.), is recorded as a cult, plant in garden litera- 

 ture; this plant is Eustoma Russellianum, Griseb., 

 growing on plains Neb. to La. and Mex. Glaucous: 

 st. simple, or with a few opposite branches: Ivs. opposite, 

 connate, ovate or ovate-oblong, 3-5-nerved: fls. pani- 

 cled, as large as a tulip; lobes obovate, spreading; 

 stigma of 2 very large, green, velvety, spreading plates: 

 pod oblong; seeds minute, pale brown. B.M. 3626. 

 G.C. III. 4:240. R.H. 1863:51; 1881, p. 189. G.M. 

 49:479. Gn. 70, p. 77. G. 25:292. G.W. 11, p. 138. 

 H.F. II. 4:240. It is a tender annual and grows \ l /% 



