Hardy Ornamental Flowering Trees and Shrubs · Chapter 137Liriodendron
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LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA.—Tulip Tree. North America, 1688. One of the noblest hardy exotic trees in cultivation. The large, four-lobed, truncate leaves, of a soft and pleasing green, are highly ornamental, and are alone sufficient to establish the identity of the tree. Flowers large, yellow, and sweet-scented, and usually freely produced when the tree has attained to a height of between 20 feet and 30 feet. When we consider the undoubted hardihood of the tree and indifference to soil, its noble aspect, handsome foliage that is so distinct from that of any other tree, and showy flowers, we feel justified in placing it in the very first rank of ornamental trees. L. tulipifera integrifolia has entire leaves, which render it distinct from the type; L. tulipifera fastigiata, or pyramidalis, is of erect growth; L. tulipifera aurea, with golden foliage; and L. tulipifera crispa, with the leaves curiously undulated—a peculiarity which seems constant, but is more curious than beautiful. Few soils come amiss to the Tulip Tree, it thriving well in that of very opposite descriptions—loam, almost pure gravel, and alluvial deposit.