46 THE LEWIS BROOKS MUSEUM. 



The two magnificent allied genera, liriodendron, or 

 tulip tree, and magnolia, are the most noteworthy of all the 

 trees which had their origin in the middle Cretaceous. 

 These two genera also are peculiarly American. They are 

 restricted to the eastern part of the United States, with the 

 exception of perhaps one species of magnolia in Mexico. 



They are distinguished by their ancient lineage, the 

 size and beauty of their flowers, their vigorous growth, 

 their limitation in species and their restricted habitat. The 

 true magnolia, containing eight species, is the more widely 

 diffused genus, and is no doubt destined to endure longer 

 than the liriodendron. As represented by the magnolia 

 grandiflora of the Southern States, this genus, without 

 doubt, furnishes the queen of our forests. 



The liriodendron, or tulip tree, improperly called some- 

 times poplar, is by far the most interesting of our trees. 

 The only living species is the splendid tree which is the or- 

 nament to our forests. It is confined to a belt of country 

 lying between New England and Florida, and extending 

 from the Atlantic to Michigan and Illinois. It reaches its 

 perfection in about our latitude. From the value of its 

 timber and the size and beauty of its trunk, it may be fairly 

 called the king of our forests. Everything indicates that 

 it is not destined long to survive the struggle for existence. 



Among the other still surviving plants of the Creti- 

 ceous flora, now found on the Atlantic slope of America, 

 we may mention the persimmon, oak, willow, beech, birch, 

 ivy, buckthorn, walnut, hackberry and moonseed. All of 

 these differ but little from their Cretaceous ancestors. 



Professor Lesquereux has given in Vol. VI of the ''Re- 

 ports on the Geology of the Territories," a good descrip- 

 tion of the flora of the Dakota group, and to it I am in- 

 debted for many of the above details. 



In the upper Cretaceous of Greenland we find mainly 

 the same types of plants as in the Dakota group. The * 

 great variety and luxuriance of this vegetation in such high 



