Chinese tulip tree

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chinese tulip tree
Leaf of the Chinese tulip tree

Leaf of the Chinese tulip tree

Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
Magnoliids
Order : Magnolia-like (Magnoliales)
Family : Magnolia family (Magnoliaceae)
Genre : Tulip trees ( liriodendron )
Type : Chinese tulip tree
Scientific name
Liriodendron chinense
( Hemsl. ) Coffin.

The Chinese tulip tree ( Liriodendron chinense ) is one of two plant species of the genus tulip trees ( Liriodendron ) from the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae).

description

From the other species of the genus Liriodendron , the American tulip tree , it differs in addition to the lower growth height by the larger and deeper lobed leaves.

Vegetative characteristics

The Chinese tulip tree grows as a deciduous tree that reaches heights of growth of up to 40 m and a trunk diameter of around 1 m ( DBH ). The grayish-white bark is longitudinally fissured and peeling off in small portions. The bark of the branches is gray to grayish-brown. The clearly alternate and spirally arranged leaves on the branches are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole has a length of 4 to 8 (to 16) cm. The simple, membranous to paper-like leaf blade has a length of 4 to 12 (to 18) cm and a width of 3 to 9.5 (to 23) cm, is four-lobed, the base of the blade is slightly heart-shaped and the tip of the leaf is notched. The underside of the leaves is blue-green and the upper side is shiny and smooth. The two stipules are fused to each other, but not with the petioles, and fall off late.

The species is hardy in Central Europe, but branches can freeze back in severe winters.

The solitary flowers with a circle curved downwards and two circles upright bracts.

Generative characteristics

In the flowering period in May, the flowers appear individually at the end together with the leaves. The hermaphroditic, cup-shaped flowers are protogynous , that is, the female organs mature before the male ones . The (seven to) nine bloom cladding sheets (tepals) standing in three circles are only almost identical. The outer three tepals are sepal-like, bent back far down and green. The inner six upright tepals are corolla-like, 3 to 4 cm long, obovate, yellowish-green with a yellow to orange band or spot at the base. The many 5 to 6 mm long stamens are whirling on a short torus and fall off late. The filaments are of 5 to 6 mm one-third to half as long as the 10 to 16 mm long dust bag. The many free, yellowish-green carpels are arranged helically and protrude above the flower envelope; the lowest are sterile. Each carpel contains two pendulous ovules .

The 7 to 9 cm long collective fruit consists of about 6 mm long angular, one to two seeded nuts. The fruits ripen from September to October.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 38.

Occurrence

The Chinese tulip tree grows in forests at altitudes between 900 and 1000 meters in the Chinese provinces : Anhui , Fujian , Guangxi , Guizhou , Hubei , Hunan , Jiangxi , Shaanxi , Sichuan , Yunnan , Zhejiang , and in northern Vietnam . This species is used for wood production and as an ornamental tree. It is a rare and endangered species.

Systematics

It was first described in 1886 by William Botting Hemsley as Liriodendron tulipifera L. var. Chinense in Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany , 23, p. 25, Hemsley already writes that it is probably a species of its own. Charles Sprague Sargent gave it the status of an independent species under the name Liriodendron chinense in Trees and Shrubs , 1 (3), 1903, p. 103. Another synonym is Liriodendron tulipifera var. Sinensis Diels.

swell

  • Yuhu Liu, Nianhe Xia, Liu Yuhu & Hans P. Nooteboom: Magnoliaceae in der Flora of China , Volume 7, 2008, p. 90: Liriodendron chinense - Online. (Section description and systematics)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ First description scanned at biodiversitylibrary.org.

Web links

Commons : Chinese tulip tree ( Liriodendron chinense )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files