174 
LETTERS FROM ALABAMA. 
swamps, where it is most abundant, the blossoms 
are not numerous. However, the visible qualities 
that we most admire in flowers are, individual size 
and beauty ; and, examined as individuals, the 
flowers of this tree are worthy of admiration. They 
bear a close resemblance to tulips in size and colour, 
but are rather less bell-shaped, and shallower ; the 
petals, six in number, vary in tint, but are chiefly 
yellow, with a red base, containing five or six pale 
^ longitudinal streaks ; they have the advantage of 
the tulip, in possessing a fragrant odour. 
Tlie tree itself {Liriodendron tulipiferum) is one 
of the most magnificent in our forests, often attain- 
ing the height of a hundred and twenty feet, being 
thus second only to the giant sycamore. It is here 
universally distinguished by the name of Poplar ; 
but, in some of the States, I believe, the appella- 
tion of Whitewood is given to it. It delights to 
grow, in company with its noble rival, in the deep 
bottoms of valleys, and in the solemn swamps 
which border our great rivers. These swamps 
must not be confounded with marshes ; the soil is 
firm, and in general, though damp, is not wet, 
except when overflowed by the spring freshets. 
The Tulip-tree does not thrive in a soil habitually 
wet. When growing in situations where the 
branches have space to expand, they ramify in a 
very beautiful and regular manner, and, as the 
foliage is abundant, large and massy in its charac- 
ter, and of a rich deep hue, the tree, independent 
of its floral pretensions, is one of great beauty and 
splendour. The leaves are of a very singular, but 
elegant form, sometimes eight inches in width, fixed 
at the end of a long petiole, somewhat fleshy, 
smooth and glossy, growing alternately on the 
