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Liriodendron is a genus in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae), consisting of two species of large deciduous trees, one native to eastern North America, the other to China. The standard English name is variously given in three different formats, as two words Tulip tree (the commonest form in popular usage), hyphenated as Tulip-tree, or compound as Tuliptree (these formats more often used in botanical texts).
Thes trees are easily recognized by their fruit, which is a cone-like aggregate of samaras, each of which has a roughly tetrahedral seed with one edge attached to the central conical spike and the other edge attached to the wing. The leaves are very unusual, with four lobes and a cross-cut notched or straight apex (see photo, below). The flowers have nine tepals, three short outer sepal-like, and six inner petal-like, yellow-orange in colour. They are superficially similar to a tulip in shape, hence the tree's name. The stamens and pistils are arranged spirally around the spike; the stamens fall off, and the pistils become the samaras.
The best known is the American tulip tree, L. tulipifera, also called the Tuliptree magnolia, or sometimes confusingly, "tulip poplar" or "yellow poplar" (though it is not a poplar, family Salicaceae). The blossoms of this species yield large quantities of nectar and the species is a major honey plant in eastern USA, yielding a dark reddish, fairly strong flavoured honey.
Less well known is the Chinese tulip tree, L. chinense. This native of central and southern China is very similar to the American species, differing in the slightly larger and more deeply lobed leaves, and shorter inner tepals in the flower lacking the orange base of L. tulipifera.
Tulip trees make magnificently shaped specimen trees, but very large, growing to about 35 meters in good soil. L. tulipifera can grow to more than 50 meters in virgin forests of eastern United States, often with no limbs until 25-30 meters in height, which makes it a very valuable timber tree. It is fast growing, without the common problems of weak wood strength and short lifespan often seen in fast growing species. The maximum size of the Chinese tulip tree is not known, due to a long history of overcutting in its native forests; in cultivation it grows as fast as the American tulip tree, but has not been cultivated long enough to determine its potential mature size, with the largest about 30m tall so far.
The soft, fine-grained wood is highly prized for cabinet making and many other uses. It is clearly the wood of choice for use in organ-building, due to its ability to take a fine, smooth, precisely-cut finish and so to effectively seal against pipes and valves. It is also commonly used for siding clapboards. Its wood is comparable in texture, strength, and softness to white pine and the two can be used interchangeably.
| Scientific classification |
| Kingdom: |
Plantae |
| Division: |
Magnoliophyta |
| Class: |
Magnoliopsida |
| Order: |
Magnoliales |
| Family: |
Magnoliaceae |
| Genus: |
Liriodendron | |
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