Michigan Trees Part 31

LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long, nearly as broad; outline variable, ovate to semi-orbicular, often 3-5-lobed; coa.r.s.ely serrate; thin; dark blue-green and smooth or rough above, pale and more or less downy beneath; petioles 1-2 inches long, smooth, exuding a milky juice when cut.

FLOWERS.--May, with the leaves; monoecious or dioecious; the staminate in dense spikes 1-2 inches long, on short, hairy peduncles; the pistillate in dense spikes about 1 inch long, on short, hairy peduncles; calyx 4-lobed, hairy; corolla 0; stamens 4, with green anthers; stigmas 2, spreading.

FRUIT.--July; 1 inch long; consisting of drupes about 1/32 inch long, each inclosed in a thickened, fleshy calyx; berry-like; bright red at first, finally blackish; sweet, juicy, edible.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ovoid, abruptly pointed, 1/4 inch long, l.u.s.trous, light brown.

BARK.--Twigs greenish and more or less downy, becoming smooth and brownish; trunk dark brown tinged with red and more or less furrowed.

WOOD.--Light, soft, weak, rather tough, coa.r.s.e-grained, very durable, pale orange, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Southern portion of the Lower Peninsula, as far north as the Muskegon river.

HABITAT.--Prefers rich soil in river-bottoms.

NOTES.--Easily transplanted. Grows rapidly in good, moist soil.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Tulip Poplar. Tulip-tree. White-wood+

1. Winter twig, 1.

2. Leaf, 1/2.

3. Flowering branchlet, 1/2.

4. Fruit (opened and partly disseminated), 1/2.]

+MAGNOLIACEAE+

+Tulip Poplar. Tulip-tree. White-wood+

_Liriodendron tulipifera L._

HABIT.--A large tree 70-100 feet high, with a columnar trunk 2-5 feet in diameter; forming a rather open, conical crown of slender branches.

LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 5-6 inches long and broad; 4-lobed; entire; l.u.s.trous, dark green above, pale or glaucous beneath, turning clear yellow in autumn; petioles slender, angled, 5-6 inches long.

FLOWERS.--May-June, after the leaves; perfect; terminal; solitary on stout peduncles; tulip-shaped, greenish yellow, 1-1/2-2 inches long; sepals 3, greenish, early deciduous; petals 6, in 2 rows, greenish yellow with an orange spot at the base, early deciduous; stamens numerous, somewhat shorter than the petals; pistils numerous, clinging together about a central axis; ovary 1-celled.

FRUIT.--September-October; a narrow, light brown cone 2-1/2-3 inches long, composed of numerous carpels; carpels long, flat, with a 1-2-seeded nutlet at the base, separating from the slender spindle at maturity.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal bud 1/2-1 inch long, obtuse, flattish, dark red, covered with a glaucous bloom.

BARK.--Twigs smooth, l.u.s.trous, reddish, becoming brownish, and at length gray; ashy gray, thin and scaly on young trunks, becoming thick, brownish, and deeply furrowed with age.

WOOD.--Light, soft, brittle, weak, easily worked, light yellow or brown, with thin, cream-white sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Lower Peninsula south of the Grand River. Formerly common, but becoming rare.

HABITAT.--Prefers deep, rich, rather moist soil, but adapts itself readily to any good, light soil.

NOTES.--Difficult to transplant, but rapid of growth when once established. Not disfigured by insect enemies. Good for ornamental planting.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Sa.s.safras+

1. Winter twig, 1.

2. Portion of twig, enlarged.

3. Leaves, 1/2.

4. Staminate flowering branchlet, 1/2.

5. Staminate flower, enlarged.

6. Pistillate flowering branchlet, 1/2.

7. Pistillate flower, enlarged.

8. Fruit, 1/2.]

+LAURACEAE+

+Sa.s.safras+

_Sa.s.safras variifolium (Salisb.) Ktse._ [_Sa.s.safras sa.s.safras (L.) Karst._] [_Sa.s.safras officinale Nees & Eberm._]

HABIT.--Usually a large shrub, but often a small tree 20-40 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 10-20 inches; stout, often contorted branches and a bushy spray form a flat, rather open crown.

LEAVES.--Alternate, simple, 3-6 inches long, 2-4 inches broad; oval to oblong or obovate; entire or 1-3-lobed with deep, broad sinuses and finger-like lobes; thin; dull dark green above, paler beneath; petioles slender, about 1 inch long.

FLOWERS.--May, with the leaves; dioecious; greenish yellow; on slender pedicels, in loose, drooping, few-flowered racemes 2 inches long; calyx deeply 6-lobed, yellow-green; corolla 0; stamens of staminate flower 9, in 3 rows, of pistillate flower 6, in 1 row; ovary 1-celled.

FRUIT.--September-October; an oblong-globose, l.u.s.trous, dark blue berry, 3/8 inch long, surrounded at the base by the scarlet calyx, borne on club-shaped, bright red pedicels.

WINTER-BUDS.--Terminal buds 1/3 inch long, ovoid, acute, greenish, soft-p.u.b.escent, flower-bearing; lateral buds much smaller, sterile or leaf-bearing. Aromatic.

BARK.--Twigs glabrous, l.u.s.trous, yellow-green, spicy-aromatic, becoming red-brown and shallowly fissured when 2-3 years old; thick, dark red-brown and deeply and irregularly fissured into firm, flat ridges on old trunks.

WOOD.--Soft, weak, brittle, coa.r.s.e-grained, very durable in the soil, aromatic, dull orange-brown, with thin, light yellow sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Southern portion of Lower Peninsula as far north as Grayling.

HABITAT.--Prefers well-drained, stony or sandy soil; woods; abandoned fields; peaty swamps.

NOTES.--Rapid of growth. Suckers freely. Difficult to transplant.

Propagated easily from seed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Sycamore. b.u.t.ton-wood. b.u.t.tonball-tree+

1. Winter twig, 1.

2. Portion of twig, side view, 1.