Part 11

=Remarks.=--The cucumber tree has been too rare in Indiana to be of economic importance. The greatest interest with us is its distribution. The uses of the wood are similar to that of tulip with which it is botanically related. It is said that the greater part of the lumber which is produced in the south is sold as tulip. The seeds of this tree are extremely bitter and no bird, squirrel or mouse will carry or touch them. However, man after macerating them in whisky can use them for medicine.

=2. LIRIODÈNDRON.= The Tulip Tree.

=Liriodendron Tulipífera= Linnæus. Tulip. Yellow Poplar. Plate 67. Large trees with deeply furrowed grayish bark; twigs glabrous and glaucous at first, becoming reddish-brown by the end of the season, then gray or dark brown; leaves very variable, 4-6 lobed, average blades 5-12 cm. long, truncate and notched at the apex, more or less rounded, truncate or cordate at the base, glabrous above and below at maturity or with a few hairs on the veins beneath; flowers appear in May or June, large bell-shaped, about 4 cm. deep, greenish-yellow, sometimes tinged with orange-red; fruit upright, cone-shaped, 5-7 cm. long; wood light, weak, soft, stiff, straight and moderately coarse-grained, seasons and works well. Sap wood white, heart wood a light yellow.

=Distribution.=--Vermont, southern Ontario, southern Michigan, south to Florida and west to Arkansas and Missouri. Found throughout Indiana, and doubtless is found in every county. It is rare to infrequent in most of the counties north of the Wabash River. It gradually becomes more frequent toward the south and where its habitat is found it is frequent to common. It prefers a moist rich well drained soil and thrives best in protected coves and near the lower part of slopes of hills. It is found with beech, sugar maple and white oak. It is rarely found in a black loam soil, but prefers a sandy soil. It was generally a common tree and of very large size in practically all of the counties in the southern two-thirds of the State.

=Remarks.=--This tree is generally known by botanists as tulip tree. By lumbermen it is usually known as yellow poplar, or more often shortened to poplar. It is also known as blue, white and hickory poplar, or as white wood. The tulip tree is the second largest tree of Indiana. In the Ind. Geol. Rept. 6:70:1875, is the following: "I measured four poplar trees that stood within a few feet of each other; the largest was thirty-eight feet in circumference three feet from the ground, one hundred and twenty feet high, and about sixty-five feet to the first limb. The others were, respectively eighteen and a half, eighteen and seventeen feet in circumference at three feet from the ground." The range of the uses of the wood is not so great as the oak, but it has many uses. The demand has been so great that practically all of the large trees have been cut. Small trees have so much sap or white wood that they are not sought for lumber, but can be used for pulp and excelsior.

The tulip transplants easily, grows rapidly, tall and with short side branches. Experiments in growing this tree indicate that it is one of the very best trees for reinforcing the woodlot, and other forest planting. It can be recommended for roadside planting because it grows tall and has a deep root system. Where conditions of life are not too severe it could be used for shade tree planting.

=ANONÀCEAE.= The Custard Apple Family.

=ASÍMINA.= The Pawpaw.

=Asímina tríloba= (Linnæus) Dunal. Pawpaw. Plate 68. Shrubs or small trees; bark smooth except on very old trees when it becomes somewhat furrowed; twigs at first covered with rusty brown hairs, becoming glabrous and reddish-brown by the end of the season; leaves obovate-lanceolate, average blades 16-30 cm. long, abruptly taper-pointed, wedge-shape at base, margins entire, somewhat rusty pubescent at first, becoming at maturity glabrous above, and glabrous or nearly so beneath; flowers appear in May or early June, maroon color, drooping; fruit edible, ripening in September and October, 7-13 cm. long, greenish-yellow, smooth, pulp white or yellow, with a few large, dark-brown flattened seeds; wood light, soft and weak.

=Distribution.=--New York, north shore of Lake Erie, southern Michigan, Nebraska, south to Florida and west to Texas. Found in all parts of Indiana, although it is found in the greatest abundance in the central counties. It prefers a moist rich soil, although it is quite adaptive. Sometimes it is found in a black loam soil in low woods or about lakes, but its preference is for a beech and sugar maple woods or habitats approximating it. In the southern counties it is absent on the sterile wooded ridges, but may be a common shrub at the base of the slopes. It is a constant companion of the tulip tree and where one will grow the other is likely to be found. It is a great tree to send up suckers, hence it is always found in clumps, or forms real thickets. This species with us is usually 2-7 meters high; however, there are records of large trees. Collett in Ind. Geol. Rept. 5:404:1874, in a geological report of Gibson County says: "A forest of pawpaw bushes attracted our attention by their tree-like size, being nearly a foot in diameter."

=Remarks.=--This species is also known as the yellow and white pawpaw. Recently some enthusiasts have christened it the "Hoosier Banana". There has been an attempt for years to cultivate the pawpaw, and some varieties have been named. The fruit is variable. The one with a white pulp is rather insipid and is not considered good to eat. The form with a yellow pulp is the kind that is regarded as the most palatable. The two forms are not botanically separated but Prof. Stanley Coulter has made some observations on the two forms in the Ind. Geol. Rept. 24:745:1899. He says: "Two forms, not separated botanically are associated in our area. They differ in time of flowering, in size, shape, color and flavor of the fruit, in leaf shape, venation and odor and color of the bark. They are of constant popular recognition and probably separate species, never seeming to intergrade."

It is desirable for ornamental planning on account of its interesting foliage, beautiful and unique flowers and delicious fruit. It is very difficult to transplant a sucker plant, and in order to get a start of this species it is best to plant the seed or seedlings. It is usually found growing in the shade, but does well in full sunlight.

Mr. Arthur W. Osborn of Spiceland, who has done much experimental work in propagating this species, reports some interesting cases of pawpaw poisoning. He says he knew a lady whose skin would be irritated by the presence of pawpaws. Some individuals after eating them develop a rash with intense itching. In one instance he fed a person, subject to the rash from eating the pawpaw, a peeled pawpaw with a spoon, and the subject never touched the pawpaw, and the results were the same. The American Genetic Association has taken up the subject of improving the fruit of this tree, and there is no doubt but that in the future this species will be of considerable economic importance. The tree is free from all insect enemies, and since it can be grown in waste places, there is no reason why it should not receive more attention than it does.

=LAURÀCEAE.= The Laurel Family.

=SÁSSAFRAS.= The Sassafras.

=Sassafras officinàle= Nees and Ebermaier. Sassafras. Red Sassafras. White Sassafras. Plate 69. Small to large trees; bark aromatic, smooth on young trees, reddish-brown and deeply furrowed on old trees, resembling that of black walnut; branchlets yellowish-green, splotched more or less with sooty spots; twigs at first more or less hairy, soon becoming smooth or remaining more or less hairy until autumn, more or less glaucous, especially the smooth forms; buds more or less pubescent, the axillary ones usually more or less hairy, the outer scales of the terminal one usually smooth and glaucous; leaves simple, alternate, ovate, elliptic to obovate, blades 5-16 cm. long, entire or with 1-5 lobes, narrowed at the base, the apex and terminal of the lobes acute, both surfaces hairy when they expand, generally becoming smooth above and beneath, or more often remaining more or less pubescent beneath, the midrib and two lateral veins usually prominent beneath; petioles 0.5-5 cm. long, hairy at first, becoming smooth or more often retaining some pubescence; flowers appear before or with the leaves in April or May, small, yellow or greenish, the male and female generally on different trees, on racemes up to 4 cm. long; flower stalks usually pubescent, sometimes smooth; fruit an oblong, blue-black, glaucous berry which matures late in summer; fruit generally 7-10 mm. long, on a stalk including the pedicel and raceme up to 9 cm. long.

=Distribution.=--Maine, southern Ontario to Iowa and south to Florida and west to Texas. No doubt it was formerly found in every county of Indiana. In the northern part of the State it is more local in its distribution than in the southern counties. In the northern counties where it is local it is found in colonies on sandy or clayey ridges. Sassafras is usually considered an indicator of poorer soils, hence, in the central counties it is often very local. It is frequent to common throughout the hilly counties of the southern part of the State. In this part of the State it becomes a pernicious weed tree. It soon invades fence rows and fallow fields, and is extremely difficult to kill out. It is rarely found in wet situations; however, in Sullivan and Clay Counties large trees have been observed in low alluvial ground, associated with the white elm, etc.

=Remarks.=--Wood light, soft, coarse-grained, aromatic, heartwood brownish. In our area sassafras wood is used principally for posts and crossties. The roots contain a volatile oil which is much used in medicine and perfumery. Every one is familiar with the sassafras peddler who in the Spring sells a small bundle of roots or bark for making sassafras tea. The tea is reputed "to thin the blood." The aromatic character of the wood led the earliest inhabitants to attribute many medicinal and other qualities to the wood which, in many instances bordered on superstition. In some of the southern States bedsteads were made of sassafras with the belief that they would produce sounder sleep. Floors were made of sassafras to keep out the rats and mice. Perches of chicken houses were made of sassafras poles to keep off the lice. To successfully make soap, it was necessary to stir the contents of the kettle with a sassafras stick.

The sassafras is usually about one-fourth of a meter in diameter. However, on the Charles Hole farm about three miles southeast of Butlerville grew two of the largest trees of which we have record. The trees grew within seven meters of each other on a slope now grown up with large sugar maple. They were cut by Mr. Hole's father, on whose farm they were located. The largest was cut in the later sixties and the smaller in the early seventies. The stumps were seen by the writer in 1918. Both are now hollow although the outside is quite solid after having been cut about fifty years. Chips were cut from the root spurs and the wood was almost as aromatic as if the tree had just been cut. "The stumps have been burned at least three times," says Mr. Hole, yet the smaller now measures 1.09 m. (43 inches) in diameter at a meter high. The largest stump now measures 1.22 m. (48 inches), in diameter at a meter high. Mr. Hole says that the smallest tree had a clear hole of at least 18 meters, and the largest tree was .92 m. (36 inches) in diameter 20 meters from the stump.

Sassafras deserves more consideration than it has received as a shade and ornamental tree. The autumnal coloring of its foliage is scarcely surpassed by any tree; and it is free from injurious insect pests. It adapts itself to almost all kinds of soils, and grows rapidly. It is, however, transplanted with difficulty; this means only more care in digging the tree and planting it.

Commonly the sassafras is classed as red and white sassafras. The roots of the white sassafras are said to be whiter, the aroma of the wood has a suggestion of camphor, and the wood is less durable. This belief is common throughout the area of its distribution, but so far as the writer knows, no scientific work has been published to verify this division of the species.

Sassafras is extremely variable, but most botanical authors have considered the many variations as one species. Nuttall in 1818 was the first author to make a division of the forms, and he has been followed by some recent authors. Nuttall separated those forms with smooth twigs, buds, and under surface of leaves, from those with pubescent twigs, buds, and under surface of leaves. Nieuwland[50] separates a variety from the smooth forms which he calls =Sassafras albida= variety =glauca=, and reports it as occurring in the counties in the vicinity of Lake Michigan.

The writer has at hand 46 specimens from 41 counties in Indiana, including all of the Lake Michigan Counties, and he has not been able to find a single character that is constant enough to make a division of our forms, consequently all the Indiana forms are included under one and the old name for sassafras.

=ALTINGIÀCEAE.= Sweet Gum Family.

=Liquidámbar Styracíflua= Linnæus. Sweet Gum. Plate 70. Large trees with resinous sap; bark deeply furrowed, grayish; twigs when very young somewhat hairy, soon becoming glabrous, a light reddish-brown by the end of the season, later a gray, usually some or all of the branchlets develop one or more corky ridges running lengthwise of the branchlets, or in some cases only corky excrescences; leaves simple, alternate, long-petioled, orbicular in outline, cleft into 5 wedge-shaped lobes, rarely 7 lobes, average blades 5-12 cm. long, truncate or cordate at the base, margins finely serrate, hairy on both surfaces on unfolding, soon becoming glabrous above, and remaining more or less hairy beneath especially in the axils of the veins, at maturity turning to a dull or brilliant red; flowers in heads, expanding in April or May; fruit a globular, horny aggregate of carpels, 3-4 cm. in diameter including the horns; wood heavy, hard, not strong, close-grained, inclined to shrink and warp in seasoning, takes a good polish, heart wood a rich brown which can be finished to imitate walnut or mahogany.

=Distribution.=--Connecticut, southern Ohio to Missouri, south to Florida and west to Texas, and in the mountains in Mexico south to Guatemala. In Indiana it is confined to wet woods in the southern half of the State. The most northern records are from Franklin, Shelby, Putnam and Parke Counties. Wherever it is found it is usually a frequent to a common or very common tree. It is most frequently associated with the beech, but in the very wet woods it is found with pin oak, red birch, cow oak and white elm.

=Remarks.=--This species grows rapidly; is somewhat hard to transplant; grows straight and tall with few side branches, and adapts itself to a wet, compact soil. In the "flats" of southern Indiana where it is associated with pin oak, red birch and beech, it is to be preferred for forest planting to these or any other species that could be grown in the "flats." It is practically free from all injurious insects. Sweet gum should be one of the principal species in wet places of the woodlots of southern Indiana.

This species is one of the best for ornamental planting in all parts of the State where it is hardy. It is doubtful if it is wise to use it in the northern part of the State. Several trees in the northern part of the State are known to be quite hardy, but there are reports that it sometimes winter-kills. It can also be recommended for roadside and street planting.

=PLATANÀCEAE.= The Plane Tree Family.

=PLÁTANUS.= The Plane Tree.

Platanus occidentàlis Linnæus. Sycamore. Plate 71. The largest tree of the State; bark thin, smooth, on age separating into thin plates and exfoliating, base of the trunks of very old trees somewhat roughened or fissured, gray to grayish-green, splotched with white; twigs at first covered with a scurvy pubescence, becoming at maturity glabrous except a ring at the node about the leaf-scar, gray or light brown, and zigzag; leaves alternate, long-petioled, nearly orbicular in outline, the blades somewhat deltoid, blades large, variable in size and shape, average blades 9-17 cm. long, frequently much larger on vigorous shoots, generally with 3-5 main lobes, sometimes the lobes are indistinct and the leaves appear only irregularly toothed, margins toothed, rarely entire between the lobes, truncate or cordate at the base, acute or acuminate at the apex; one form has been noted with leaves obovate, scarcely lobed and with a wedge-shaped base; leaves covered on both sides at first with a dense tomentum, becoming at maturity glabrous above--rarely tardily pubescent, nearly glabrous beneath, except on the veins and in the axils, petioles remaining pubescent; flowers appear in May with the leaves in heads on long woolly peduncles; fruit a globose head of many seeds, 2-3.5 cm. in diameter, maturing late in the year; the seed are scattered by the wind during the winter months; wood heavy, hard, weak, close-grained, difficult to split and work, takes a high polish; when used as a container it does not communicate an objectional taste or odor to contents.

=Distribution.=--Maine, Ontario to Nebraska, south to the Gulf States and west to Texas. Found in all parts of Indiana, although there are no records for the extreme northwestern counties. It is a tree of a low ground habitat, and is found principally in low ground along streams, about lakes, and ponds. In such habitats it is a frequent tree in all parts, except in the "flats" of the southern counties. In some places it is a common to a very common tree, especially along the upper courses of White River.

=Remarks.=--In this State this species is always called the sycamore tree. It is the largest tree of the State, and the largest deciduous tree of the United States. Indiana has the distinction of having the largest living sycamore in the United States. It is located near Worthington, Indiana, and "in 1915, measured 43 feet and 3 inches in circumference at five feet above the ground." See frontispiece. The sycamore grew to great diameters in all parts of the State. It was commonly hollow, because it is believed the tree in early life is usually more or less injured by floating ice and debris which starts inner decay. Hollow sycamore logs were commonly used by the pioneers in which to smoke their meat, and sections of hollow logs about 12 dm. (4 feet) long were used to store grain in, and were known as "gums."

The value of sycamore lumber has been very much underestimated. It has many uses such as butcher blocks, interior finish, furniture, piling, tobacco boxes, veneer berry boxes, handles, wooden ware, etc. Indiana has led in the production of sycamore lumber for years.

The sycamore is well adapted for shade, ornamental and forestry purposes. It transplants easily, grows rapidly, stands pruning well and is comparatively free from injurious insects. It grows straight, tall and usually with a rather narrow crown. It prefers a moist soil, but adapts itself to dry situations. For planting overflow lands, or on the banks of streams it is one of the best species we have. It is also one of the best species for roadside tree planting, because it is deep rooted, grows tall, and does not produce a dense shade.

=MALÀCEAE.=[51] The Apple Family.

The trees of this family that occur in our area have simple, alternate leaves; perfect, regular flowers, 5-merous calyx and corolla; fruit a more or less fleshy pome.

Flowers in racemes, cavities of mature fruit twice as many as the styles, seeds less than 4 mm. (1/8 inch) long 2 Amelanchier.

Flowers in cymes or corymbs, cavities of mature fruit as many as the styles, seeds more than 4 mm. (1/8 inch) long.

Fruit green, mature carpels papery 1 Malus.

Fruit red, orange, blue-black or yellow, mature carpels bony 3 Cratægus.

=I. MÀLUS.= The Apples.

_Malus angustifolia_ has been reported from the State, but it is a species of more southern range. Both _Malus ioensis_ and _Malus lancifolia_ may easily be mistaken for this species.

Leaves and petioles glabrous or only slightly pubescent; calyx tube and outside of calyx lobes glabrous or only slightly pubescent.

Leaves distinctly lobed, at least those of vigorous shoots; petioles pubescent above 1 M. glaucescens.

Leaves serrate, not lobed; petioles glabrous 2 M. lancifolia.

Leaves (at least the lower surfaces) and petioles densely tomentose; calyx lobes densely tomentose on both sides 3 M. ioensis.

=1. Malus glaucéscens= Rehder. American Crab Apple (_M. fragrans_ Rehder). Plate 72. Bark reddish, fissured and scaly; leaves on glandless petioles, petioles usually 2-4 cm. (3/4-1-1/2 inches) long, leaves narrow ovate to almost triangular, those on the lateral branchlets of the ovate type, those of the terminal branchlets and vigorous shoots of the triangular type, 3-8 cm. (1-1/2-3 inches) long, acute at the apex, mostly rounded or somewhat cordate at the base, sometimes tapering, those of the triangular type usually truncate, margin of the ovate type of leaves more or less sharply serrate, the basal third of the leaf with shallow teeth or entire, margins of the triangular type more deeply serrate to almost lobed, hairy above and below when they expand, becoming smooth both above and below, sometimes a few hairs are found on the veins beneath at maturity, bright green above, paler beneath; flowers appear in May when the leaves are about half grown, usually 5 or 6 in a cluster, white or rose-color, very fragrant, 3-4 cm. (1-1/2-2 inches) broad when fully expanded; calyx lobes lanceolate-acuminate, tomentose on the inside, glabrous outside; fruit depressed-globose, without angles, yellow-green, 2-4.5 cm. (3/4-2 inches) thick, 2-2.5 cm. (3/4-1 inch) long, very fragrant and covered with a waxy bloom.

=Distribution.=--Central New York, lower peninsula Michigan, western New Jersey to northern Alabama and Missouri. Found in all parts of Indiana. No doubt in the original forests it was rare, but the removal of the large trees has been favorable to its growth until today it is somewhat frequent in moist open woods, along streams and neglected fences. It is most frequent among the hills in southern Indiana, and in all its distribution it is usually found in clumps.

In our area it is a small tree about 10-20 cm. (4-8 inches) in diameter and 4-6 m. (12-18 feet) high, with a spreading crown. An exceptionally large tree is located on the south bank of Round Lake in Whitley County which measures 1.3 m. (51 inches) in circumference at one meter (3 feet) above the ground where the first branch appears.