Sepals 3, reflexed. Petals 6, connivent in two imbricated series. Carpels in an oblong spike, 2-seeded, at length sama-roid and indehiscent. Only one species is known, a native of North America. The name is from a lily, and a tree.

1. L. tulipifera. Tulip Tree. - This is one of the noblest hardy exotic trees we have. In its native habitat it attains a height of 150 feet, and even in England there are many specimens from 75 to 100 feet high, which often produce their yellow or orange sweet-scented flowers in great profusion. The habit resembles that of the erect-growing Plane, and its ample foliage renders it equally ornamental and effective. The remarkable 4-lobed truncate leaves are alone sufficient to distinguish this from any other tree in cultivation.

There is a variety distinguished by its larger foliage; another, called integrifolia, in which the inferior lobes are wanting; and a third, in which the lobes are unusually large, is called obtusiloba. The variegated forms offer nothing special.