52. Buttonball. No list of trees would be complete which did not include those three forest giants, buttonball, tulip, and sweet gum. The names buttonwood, buttonball, sycamore, and plane tree, as the same tree is called in different parts of the country, all apply to that fine American tree which sheds its bark as well as its leaves, leaving a ghostly monarch of tree life, which produces an enormous crop of buttonballs so well known to country boys and girls. The leaves are in proportion to the size of the tree, often measuring a foot in length, and being frequently covered on the under side with a white down called fungus.
Fig. 111. Leaf of Buttonwood
The wood of the sycamore, as it is incorrectly called, is valuable for cabinetwork, having a beautiful grain and taking a high polish. It is, however, difficult to work, and has a tendency to warp.
53. Sweet Gum. The sweet-gum tree also produces a crop of balls, or seed pods, but although the same size as the buttonballs, they need never be confused, as the gum balls are covered with somewhat sharp points, while the buttonballs are comparatively smooth.
The leaves of the sweet gum, or liquid amber—so called from the amber-colored gum the tree gives out—remind one of the starfish, being five-fingered and decidedly different from any leaf in the forest. The tree grows to a height of one hundred and fifty feet, and its wood is a handsome brown color with fine and intricate markings. It warps badly, but is valued for wood turning on account of its softness and even grain.
Fig. 112. Sweet Gum, or Liquid Amber
54. Tulip. The lumber furnished by the tulip tree, commonly called whitewood, is less liable to warp than gum wood, and is somewhat harder. Just why it should be called whitewood is not clear, as it is much darker than white pine and of a greenish-yellow color. The leaf of the tulip tree is very peculiar, having only four points, without any small teeth, and with an outline so odd that one often wonders if nature did not use a pair of scissors in cutting it out.