Chinese Tulip Tree Traditional Cache

Chinese Tulip Tree and the American Tulip tree are the only Tulip trees still in existance. They are Magnolia species, not Poplars as one of the common names sugests. This one is at the edge of, but part of the Cornell Arboretum.

Chinese Tuliptree

Liriodendron chinense, the Chinese tulip poplar or Chinese tulip tree, is Asia's native species in the Liriodendron genus. This native of central and southern China, also grows locally in northern Vietnam.

Liriodendron chinense twig with flowers

Description

Liriodendron chinense is very similar to the American species, Liriodendron tulipifera, differing in the often slightly larger and more deeply lobed leaves, and in the shorter inner petals in the flowers, which lack the orange pigment of L. tulipifera. The Chinese tulip tree reaches about 40 metres (130 ft) tall.

Cultivation

It is not as hardy as the American species, but is cultivated on other continents as an ornamental tree. It is grown in England (where there are many at Kew Gardens), Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. In North America, it grows as far north as Boston, Massachusetts in the east, and Vancouver, British Columbia in the west. In cultivation it grows as fast as the American tulip tree. A cultivar (J.C.Raulston) with leaves larger and darker than typical has been developed in North Carolina.

Chinese tulip tree is a fast-growing, columnar tree that typically grows to 50-70’ tall. It is named for its cup-shaped, tulip-like flowers (same family as magnolias) that bloom in late spring to early summer. This tree is very similar to Liriodendron tulipifera (native to eastern North America), except it is denser, slightly smaller, has smaller flowers without orange banding, has more deeply lobed leaves and is not as cold hardy. Cup-shaped flowers (to 1.5” long) are olive green with yellow at the base. Flowers begin blooming in May. Flowers can go unnoticed on large trees because the flowers appear after the leaves are fully developed. Sometimes the flowers are first noticed when the attractive petals begin to fall to the ground.

Petal from Liriodendron chinense flower at Finnerty Gardens, University of Victoria

Flowers are followed by dry, scaly, oblong, cone-shaped, brown fruit clusters, each bearing numerous winged seeds. Clusters disintegrate when ripe. Lobed bright green leaves turn golden yellow in fall. Genus name comes from Greek leirion (lily) and dendron (tree).

Liriodendron is a genus in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae) consisting of two extant species of trees known loosely as Tulip trees. The better known one, Liriodendron tulipifera, is from North America and is sometimes called Tulip poplar or Yellow poplar, although it is not even closely related to true poplars (Populus). The second one, Liriodendron chinense, the Chinese tulip tree, is from China and Vietnam. These are both large deciduous trees, often exceeding 100 feet (30m) in height, that are both commonly known as Tulip trees.

At one time there were additional species but these are now known only in the fossil record and we are left with the surviving two, the North American and the Asian.

The Chinese tulip tree was introduced by the famous plantsman Ernest Wilson as far back 1901 though mysteriously it remains rare. It is very similar to the American species, and although the American species is the most popular, with numerous excellent cultivars, there are some unique traits to recommend the Chinese tulip tree. 

Trunk of L. chinense with epicormic shoots showing a purplish tint often seen in juvenile foliage of this species.

The most noticeable difference occurs in early spring when the emerging foliage of the Chinese tulip tree has a pronounced purple flush that is beautiful and rich. And the leaves themselves differ slightly in that they are larger, more deeply-lobed and have a paler under-side which is most appreciated  when fluttering in the breeze. The saddle shaped leaves are a rich emerald green all summer and then turn a bright clear yellow for autumn, making for a full three-season interest.

And then there is the bloom. The flowers are beautiful in both species but the Chinese tree’s flowers are less yellow and more chartreuse in color and are borne prolifically.

Chinese tulip tree is not as hardy as the American species, but is grown across much of the world including the UK, where there are many excellent specimens at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and North America, where it is grown as far north as coastal New England in the east and Vancouver, British Columbia in the west. And it is every bit as fast-growing as the American tulip tree.

The cache is a tied in, camoed, "micro" pill bottle, the push hard to turn, both to open and close kind. Please BYOP and put everything back as you found it, including the camo.      

You can't park right by the tree. There are  several parking spots within the distance of a short walk.