Liriodendron chinense explained

Liriodendron chinense (commonly known as the Chinese tulip poplar, Chinese tulip tree or Chinese whitewood) is Asia's native species in the genus Liriodendron. This native of central and southern China grows in the provinces of Anhui, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Fujian, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Yunnan, and also locally in northern Vietnam. Protected populations occur in the Tianmushan National Reserve https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210151/http://english.sepa.gov.cn/SOE/soechina1999/biod/biod.htm, Huangshan https://web.archive.org/web/20111007190735/http://huangshancits.com/english/SmallClass.asp?typeid=16&BigClassID=18&SmallClassID=69, Wuyi Shan https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080510071232/http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/mt_wuyi.html, and Badagongshan Nature Reserve http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anbf38/anbf38-305p.pdf.

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 40m (130feet) tall.[1] Most of its populations are deciduous, with a semi-evergreen population identified at Mengla, Yunnan.[2]

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[3]), 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. It is a street tree at the University of Victoria and along the Veterans' Memorial Parkway in Langford, British Columbia. A plantation of it is at the National Arboretum in Canberra.[4] 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.[5]

In the United Kingdom L. chinense has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6] [7]

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Liriodendron chinense . Xia Nianhe . Liu Yuhu . Liu Yuhu . Hans P. Nooteboom . Flora of China . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA . 25 May 2012.
  2. 10.3390/f10010013. free. RAD-Seq Data Point to a Distinct Split in Liriodendron (Magnoliaceae) and Obvious East–West Genetic Divergence in L. Chinense. 2018. Zhong. Yongda. Yang. Aihong. Liu. Shujuan. Liu. Lipan. Li. Yanqiang. Wu. Zhaoxiang. Yu. Faxin. Forests. 10. 13.
  3. http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/plants/trees/tuliptree.html Kew Gardens site on tulip trees
  4. Web site: Forest 9 - Chinese Tulip Tree - National Arboretum Canberra. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923124020/http://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree-descriptions/forests-and-trees/forest-9 . 2015-09-23 .
  5. Web site: JC Raulston Arboretum.
  6. Web site: RHS Plantfinder - Liriodendron chinense . 25 March 2018.
  7. Web site: AGM Plants - Ornamental . July 2017 . 60. Royal Horticultural Society . 25 March 2018.