Probably a native of China, where its leaves have from time immemorial furnished food for silkworms; extensively introduced and naturalized in India and central and southern Europe; introduced likewise into the United States and Canada from Ontario to Florida; occasionally spontaneous near dwellings, old trees sometimes marking the sites of houses that have long since disappeared.
It may be distinguished from M. rubra by its smooth, shining leaves, its whitish or pinkish fruit, and its greater susceptibility to frost.
MAGNOLIACEÆ. MAGNOLIA FAMILY.
Liriodendron Tulipifera, L.
Tulip Tree. Whitewood. Poplar.
Habitat and Range.—Prefers a rich, loamy, moist soil.
Vermont,—valley of the Hoosac river in the southwestern corner of the state; Massachusetts,—frequent in the Connecticut river valley and westward; reported as far east as Douglas, southeastern corner of Worcester county (R. M. Harper, Rhodora, II, 122); Rhode Island and Connecticut,—frequent, especially in the central and southern portions of the latter state.
South to the Gulf states; west to Wisconsin; occasional in the eastern sections of Missouri and Arkansas; attains great size in the basins of the Ohio and its tributaries, and southward along the Mississippi river bottoms.
Habit.—A medium-sized tree, 50-70 feet high; trunk 2-3 feet in diameter, straight, cylindrical; head rather open, more or less cone-shaped, in the dense forest lifted high and spreading; branches small for the size of the tree, set at varying angles, often decurrent, becoming scraggly with age. The shapely trunk, erect, showy blossoms, green, cone-like fruit, and conspicuous bright green truncate leaves give the tulip tree an air of peculiar distinction.