Liriodendron tulipifera
Tulip tree ( Liriodendron tulipifera ), flowering
The tulip tree ( Liriodendron tulipifera ) is a native North American species of the genus consisting of only two species tulip trees of the family Magnoliaceae ( Magnoliaceae ).
Features
The tulip tree is a deciduous, deciduous tree. He usually has a stately stature and growth reached heights of over 40 m in the forest or plantation composite. Maximum values are at 60 m height and a thickness ( BHD) of 150 cm. In young trees, the tree crown is narrow and conical, in the elderly it is arched and lofty, but never very wide and is more strong columnar. In foliage -free state, it is very light, the branches are placed far. Leafy, it forms a dense, compact crown. The age of the oldest tree in the native range is specified with a maximum of 450 years. He stands in Queens, New York City and is called " Queens Giant", reached almost 41 m height and a diameter of about 2 m.
The bark is gray, brown or orange brown. It is covered with fine reticulate, flat strips. Young twigs are hairless, slightly frosted, the leaf scars are clearly visible. The buds are about an inch long, oval, slightly curved and slightly compressed.
The leaves are 10-15 cm long and 12-20 cm wide. The leaf shape is peculiar and unmistakable: it is axially symmetric to the stem. Young leaves are still folded on this axis. The outline is square, divided the sheet into four unequal lobes. The longitudinal sides of the flaps are almost parallel. At the top of the sheet is cut straight or emarginate. The top of the leaves is shiny and intense green, the underside is bright and waxy. The leaves are smooth and color is golden yellow in autumn. The petiole is 10 to 12 cm long.
The trunk in old trees standing on a hemispherical foundation that is formed from the root system. The advantage is a higher level security and protection against flooding.
The flowers appear singly at branch ends. You are at the first flowering of cup-shaped, later they open up further and are bell-shaped. The perianth is simple and kronblattartig. The petals are at the base of bluish- green, also yellow-orange, then green again. The stamens are thick, fleshy, and three to five inches long. The carpels are on a cone in the center of the flower. Flowering period is April to May.
The inflorescence resembles a conifer cones. The seeds are winged.
All parts of the plant, especially wood and bark are toxic to humans. In the wood the alkaloid Glaucine is contained in the bark digitaloid compounds in the leaves saponinartige and cyanogenic substances.
Evolution
Many botanists hold the detectable for at least 100 million years magnolia -like plants ( engl. designation by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group: magnoliids ) for the most primitive of all living flowering plant species. These include the tulip tree.
Dissemination
The tulip tree is native to the eastern and southeastern North America. The natural area has its northern limit in Rhode Iceland, Massachusetts and Vermont to the west in the extreme south of Ontario, further to the south of Michigan, the southern coast of Lake Huron, north shore of Lake Erie, the Niagara Peninsula. From here, the area boundary goes south on Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, eastern Arkansas and northern Louisiana. The southern border passes through the north of Florida.
The majority of the holdings is located in the Appalachian Mountains and on the Piedmontflächen from Pennsylvania to Georgia. In the north of the area, the height limit is about 300 m, in the south at 1380 m.
Use
In America the northeast of the tulip tree is one of the most important deciduous tree species. The root timber is processed mainly to doors, windows, veneers, plywood, paneling, shelves and molds. In addition, it toys, baskets, musical instruments and coffins are made . For weaker wood pencils and matches are made. The wood is stable, crack-resistant, nail proof and easy editable. The heartwood is durable, the sapwood not. In the southern Appalachian Mountains of the tulip tree has an economic significance as raw material for pulp and paper production. The pulp is stronger than poplar pulp. A certain role of the tulip tree as bee pasture. Young trees provide per season up to 3.6 kg nectar, which corresponds to approximately 1.8 kg of honey.
Due to the large, attractive flowers and the autumn colors of the tulip tree is planted outside its natural area as a park and ornamental tree in Europe since 1663, where he is regarded as absolutely frost-hardy.
He is the official state tree of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee.
Pictures
Sheet
Young leaves still folded
Bud and bloom
Flower
Flower ( spa gardens in Bad Ems)
Detail of a flower
Base of roots
Fruit and seeds