TREES HAVING SIMPLE LEAVES 103 
the mass of tulip-shaped flowers it bears in the spring. 
They are large and brilliant, yellowish-green in color, 
with dashes of red, and develop a narrow, light-brown 
cone, which remains on the tree all winter. The 
tree thrives best south of the Ohio valley, where it 
is frequently found from five to seven feet in diame- 
ter. The Indians formerly made their dugout canoes 
from its trunk, and in some 
sections it is still called canoe 
wood. 
55. Basswood, or Linden. A 
very valuable group of trees 
for both shade and timber 
are the basswoods, or lindens. 
There are several varieties, 
the European linden thriving 
here as readily as our native 
varieties. These trees may 
always be distinguished by 
the leaves, which are heartshaped and lopsided, i.e. one 
side from the middle line being always larger than the 
other, as if two leaves of different sizes had been joined 
along the center. 
This is a very common feature among certain classes 
of trees, such as the elms.’ Another remarkable feature 
is the seed, or bract, shown in the sketch (Fig. 115). 
Fie. 113. Tulip, or Whitewood 
