�wood. This attractive, pinkish-brown timber is used for furniture, joinery, toys, and tableware, but in Europe the liquidambar is planted solely as an ornamental tree. It thrives throughout southern Europe and, here and there, on acid soils in the warmer parts of the British Isles. When mature, liquidambar forms a tall, heavily branched tree, up to 130 feet high and 20 feet round in its American homeland. It bears a regularly furrowed, rough, grey, bark. A pale brown, corky outgrowth of bark often extends onto its sturdy twigs. The conical buds are set singly at angular bends on these twigs- in contrast to the paired buds of maples. They have long stalks and five to seven oval, pointed lobes that fan out in a star-shaped pattern. Throughout the summer they are dull reddish-green in color, but in October they virtually burst into flame. They change to blazing hues of pink, orange, scarlet and crimson, often with mauve or purple overtones. Leaves of various parts of the same tree, or even on the same branch, show different colors simultaneously, while the low bright autumn sun augments their brilliance. Liquidambar's flowers open in April, just before the leaves. Catkins of both sexes are found together on the same tree. Male catkins are hanging, swollen, compound clusters of small flowers that lack petals and are simply groups of stamens which shed pollen on the wind. Female catkins have a more simple design, each being a round head of closely packed flowers hanging on a single stalk. The tulip tree was brought to Europe from America around the middle of the seventeenth century, and it was widely planted for its magnificent crown of foliage and remarkable flowers. It is native to the eastern regions of North America from Ontario south to Florida.Liquidambar and Tulip Trees
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