STUDIES OF LEAF AND TREE (PART III) 



BY R. W. SHUFELDT, C.M.Z.S. 



MEMBER, L' ALLIANCE SCIENTIF., UNIVER. DE FRANCE 



IN THE vast majority of instances, botanists, ill de- 

 scribing the leaf of our Tulip tree (Liriodendron 

 tidipifera), give us practically but one form the one 

 shown on the upper half of Fig. 36. Charles S. Newhall, 

 the great authority on our trees, says, in describing the 

 leaves of this species, that they are from "three to five 

 inches long and wide ; very smooth ; with four to six 

 lobes (two lobes at the summit; at the sides two, or 

 two large and two small)." * He says not a word about 

 another very common pattern assumed by the leaf of 



beneath; autumn colour yellow" and thus it goes. No 

 one seems to have described the three-lobed leaf of the 

 tulip tree with but two sinuses. 



A beautiful flower of this tree is shown on side view 

 in Fig. 35, and a grand tree of this species in Fig. 34. 

 This latter, however, is not typical with respect to its 

 form; for many specimens are to be seen, especially 

 under favorable conditions in the woods, where the long, 

 straight trunk may not have a twig or limb upon it for 

 the first 50 or 60 feet above the ground. 



BUD, FLOWER, LEAVES AND FRUIT OF THE TULIP TREE (Liriodendron tulipifera) 

 Fig. 35 An especially fine specimen, showing the advantage of photographing flowers upon side view. 



the tulip tree, and here shown in Fig. 36, below. It will 

 be noted that it has but three lobes, a big middle one of 

 elliptical outline, and a smaller one on either side of 

 each, having a rounded end and shorter than the median 

 lobes. Gray, in describing the leaves of this tree, says 

 they are "very smooth, with two lateral lobes near the 

 base, and two at the apex, which appears as if cut off 

 abruptly by a broad shallow notch." And again, Julia 

 Rogers says : "Leaves five to six inches long and wide, 

 three or four lobed with shallow sinuses, apex truncate 

 or concave, base truncate or heart shaped ; margins en- 

 tire, dark green, leathery, smooth, lustrous above, paler 



* "The Trees of Northeastern America," p. 68, fig. 52. 



Tulip trees are beautiful at all times of the year and in 

 all situations, and extremely interesting from several 

 points of view. Especially handsome are the terminal 

 twigs when they first begin to leaf out in the spring, 

 with the exquisitely delicate leaves and tender, bursting 

 buds (Fig. 37). 



In several parts of Europe, the tulip tree has been care- 

 fully reared, it being a great favorite as an ornamental 

 one for lawns. Sometimes it is bred and trimmed, and 

 becomes a fine shade tree, its elegant flowers rendering 

 particularly beautiful the late spring and early summer. 

 With us, no such pains have been taken as a rule, al- 



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