Part 33

Flowers: Staminate spherical, yellow, usually not subtended by leaves; pistillate oblong, rose-colored, usually subtended by leaves.

Fruit: Cones oblong, up to ½ inch long, chestnut-brown.

Wood: Heavy, hard, durable, close-grained, orange-brown.

Uses: Fence posts, railroad ties, interior finishing; sometimes grown as an ornamental.

Habitat: Bogs and swamps.

Range: Labrador to Alaska, south to Minnesota, northern Illinois, and West Virginia.

Distinguishing Features: American Larch is distinguished by its short, pale green needles borne many in a cluster or singly on long shoots.

SWEET GUM Liquidambar styraciflua L.

Other Name: Red Gum.

Growth Form: Up to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter sometimes more than 3 feet; crown usually pyramidal.

Bark: Usually dark gray and broken into scaly ridges.

Twigs: Stout, often bordered by corky wings; leaf scars alternate, half-elliptical, slightly elevated, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Large, shiny, pointed, sometimes sticky to the touch.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades shaped like 5- to 7-pointed stars, each point toothed along the edge, as much as six inches long and nearly as broad. In the autumn, the leaves turn a variety of colors, from red to yellow to purple.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate on same tree crowded together in rounded clusters, opening at about the same time as the leaves unfold.

Fruit: Dry “ball” about one inch in diameter, covered by numerous short, often sharp projections, with many seeds, most of which are incapable of germinating.

Wood: Hard, strong, durable.

Uses: Lumber, furniture, flooring. The attractive leaves make this tree a handsome ornamental.

Habitat: Bottomland woods.

Range: Southwestern Connecticut across southern Illinois to eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas, east to central Florida.

Distinguishing Features: The star-shaped leaves readily distinguish this tree.

TULIP TREE Liriodendron tulipifera L.

Other Names: Yellow Poplar; Tulip Poplar.

Growth Form: Stately tree up to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 4 feet; crown oblong or pyramidal from a long, columnar trunk.

Bark: Grayish, becoming deeply furrowed at maturity; furrows often whitish within.

Twigs: Smooth, reddish-brown; leaf scars alternate, nearly spherical, with several bundle traces, with stipule scars encircling the twig.

Buds: Flattened, up to 1 inch long, resembling duckbills.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades divided into four broad lobes, the upper two lobes usually with a conspicuous notch between them, bright green, averaging 4 to 6 inches long and broad.