Liriodendron chinense

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Chinese Tulip Tree

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Magnoliales
Family:	Magnoliaceae
Genus:	Liriodendron
Species:	L. chinense

Binomial name

Liriodendron chinense
(Hemsl.) Sarg.

Liriodendron chinense, the Chinese tulip tree, is Asia's native species in the Liriodendron genus. This native of central and southern China grows in the provinces of Anhui, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Yunnan, and also locally in northern Vietnam. It 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 tepals in the flowers, which lack the orange pigment of L. tulipifera. The Chinese tulip tree reaches about 40 m tall^[1]. It is not as hardy as the American species, but is cultivated in England (where there are many at Kew Gardens^[2]), Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. In North America, it grows as far north as Boston, Massachusetts in the east, and Vancouver, Canada in the west. In cultivation it grows as fast as the American tulip tree.

[edit] Cultivation and use

The Chinese tulip tree is rare because its habitat -- rich mixed or deciduous forest -- has been heavily exploited by man. However, it is gradually becoming more widely available. It prefers a moist yet well-drained loamy soil with ample organic matter in a thick topsoil. For many years, it was thought to be a small tree because its first known populations were coppiced and because its earliest introductions outside Asia were in parts of Europe where growing seasons are much cooler than in its natural habitat. Like all members of the Magnoliaceae family, it has brittle roots and should be transplanted with care -- preferably in early spring before leaf-out.