306 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



In the vicinity of Washington, D. C, it was noted that the purple 

 finches were fond of the tulip tree seed. They attacked the spread 

 cones during the winter and made seeds fly in every direction. The 

 seeds germinate in late spring or early summer. Many seedlings 

 just up were observed near Twin Lakes in June, 1909, and seed- 

 lings, more fully grown, were common about the lake in the autumn. 



The tulip tree is easily queen among our native trees, excelling 

 all others in beauty of blossom, shapeliness of form, and attractive- 

 ness of clear bright foliage. It is also one of the most valuable of 

 our timber trees, and for this reason has disappeared from many 

 localities where once abundant. A tree full of the bright tulip- 

 shaped blossoms, greenish with a lurid inverted U at the base of 

 each petal, is a sight to be remembered. 



Although the natural tree is hard to improve on, there are sev- 

 eral interesting variations, some of them found in parks. There 

 is a fastigiate form having much the outline of a Lombardy poplar. 

 In the Agricultural Department grounds at Washington, D. C, is a 

 tree of which most of the leaves have a white blotch, a peculiarity 

 which hardly adds to the attractiveness of the tree, as it gives it a 

 diseased appearance. On the White House grounds is a small, 

 beautiful specimen with the leaves mottled and clouded with white. 



Family 57. Annonace^e. Custard-apple Family 



333. PAWPAW 



ASIMINA TRILOBA (L.) Dunal 



Not generally common in the vicinity of the lake. The only 

 ones on the south side of the lakes were in a small patch in Over- 

 myer's woods. These rarely bore any fruit, as they were probably 

 too young in 1901 ; a few of the trees were coming into bearing dur- 

 ing the latter part of our stay at the lake. On the east side it was 

 more plentiful. There was a fine dense grove along the ditch be- 

 side the Maxinkuckee road. There were also a few trees, prob- 

 ably planted, in one of the lots east of the lake, not far from the 

 Maxinkuckee road. There were also a few fine groves in Culver's 

 woods. A few miles south of the lake along the Tippecanoe River 

 near Delong, and a few miles north in woods along the Yellow 

 River, there are magnificent groves. Near Arlington Hotel, about 

 where we had thrown some seeds in 1901, there were fine large 

 bushes in 1909, but they had not yet come into bearing. 



The pawpaw is, in many respects, among the most remarkable 

 and interesting of our native shrubs. It usually grows in rather 



