The Tulip Tree 147 



The leaves are very different from those of the 

 white oak, elm, and birch. They are four-lobed, 

 often six inches long, with a stem of about the 

 same length. The leaf is very broad, with two 

 pointed lobes at the sides, and a blunt end as if it 

 had been cut off there. On their surface the tulip's 

 leaves are a very dark green, with a lighter shade 

 underneath. These colors change in autumn 

 until the whole leaf becomes a clear, brilliant 

 yellow. The buds, with large leaf scars beneath, 

 are dark red, flat, and covered with a whitish 

 bloom or powder. 



The blossoms appear on the tree in May or 

 June, after the leaves themselves are well out. 

 They are one and a half to two inches long, 

 having six petals, which are greenish yellow, 

 with a spot of orange. The fruit ripens in the 

 fall September or October and is like a cone. 

 This light brown cone is two or three inches 

 long, narrow and pointed. It is made up of many 

 long, winged seeds which overlap each other. 



Young tulip twigs are smooth and red, later 

 becoming brown, then gray. When you bruise 

 them they have a peppery smell. On the young 

 tree-trunks the bark is gray and very thin; on 



