The Tulip-tree is pronounced by Dr. Bigelow “one of the noblest trees,
both in size and beauty, of the American forest.” It certainly displays
the character of immensity,—a quality not necessarily allied with those
features we most admire in landscape. It is not very unlike the Canada
poplar, and is designated by the name of White Poplar in the Western
States. The foliage of this tree has been greatly extolled, but it has
the heaviness which is apparent in the foliage of the large-leaved
poplars, without its tremulous habit. The leaves, somewhat palmate in
their shape, are divided into four pointed lobes, the middle rib ending
abruptly, as if the fifth lobe had been cut off. The flowers, which are
beautiful, but not showy, are striped with green, yellow, and orange.
They do not resemble tulips, however, so much as the flowers of the
abutilon and althea.
This tree is known in New England rather as an ornamental tree than as a
denizen of the forest. Its native habitats are nearly the same with
those of the magnolia, belonging to an allied family. There is not much
in the proportions of this tree to attract our admiration, except its
size. But its leaves are glossy and of a fine dark green, its branches
smooth, and its form symmetrical. It is a tree that agrees very well
with dressed grounds, and its general appearance harmonizes with the
insipidity of artificial landscape. It is wanting in the picturesque
characters of the oak and the tupelo, and inferior in this respect to
the common trees of our forest.