Saturday 12 July 2014

The Answer

The flowers of the Liriodendron tulipifera - Tulip Tree, a member of the Magnolia family are a lovely buttery colour with orange markings. Liriodendron is greek for "lily tree". Even though I have shown the blossom in life size they are difficult to spot hidden amongst so much lush green foliage. Fossil evidence shows that the trees have been around since the Cretaceous period - may be dinosaurs dined out on their leaves!!!
A very tall deciduous tree which can grow to more than 50m (165 feet). In the UK they usually start flowering during June, and continue sporadically through to August. 
Those who got it correct in the order they arrived are:-
Rod Lutes 
Well done & a big thank you to everyone else who tried
You can judge how tall the tree is from the rooftops of the nearby houses

28 comments:

  1. A beautiful tree! I've only seen one in Hamburg's Botanical Garden - though not in flowering. I like your idea of making that sort of riddle, Rosemary - please carry on!

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    1. Apparently they take years before they actually flower Britta - glad you enjoyed the riddle. I used to do them fairly regularly, but will do another one sometime in the future.

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  2. I love this tall tree, which is fairly often to see here in large gardens or arboretums.

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    1. I love it too Janneke - it is such a stately tall tree

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  3. What a wonderful tree! Such beautiful flowers!! I'm sorry I missed this quiz - always fun and educational. Hope you are having a wonderful July. We're still in Maine, and getting ready to go back to DC. Everything blooms so late in Maine.

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    1. It must be rather nice to see blooms that have already past over in DC again in Maine Loi.
      I am heading off very, very, soon myself - its time to pack those bags again.

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  4. I even resorted to google and couldn't find it... thanks for the answer!

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    1. It is a lovely flower Jessica, but it does hide its flowers away unless you happen to know that the tree is a Liriodendron tulipifera.

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  5. So, it's a tree! And a magnificent one to boot. Thanks for the fun and have a wonderful weekend. ox, Gina

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    1. Dear Gina - if you weren't thinking along those lines then this is probably a surprise, but it is a wonderful tree.

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  6. Amazing Rosemary, but so delicated that nature keeps the blooms hidden so therefore not a showy tree I expect.
    Regards,
    Margaret.

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    1. It is a very tall stately tree, but the blossoms do not catch the eye unless you are aware of them.

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  7. We have a tulip tree in our local public gardens which is what twigged me to the tulip tree response. Have always wanted one ;-) http://www.halifaxpublicgardens.ca/ Thanks Rosemary..that was fun!!

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    1. Thank you - I enjoyed having a look around the public gardens in Halifax which I visited when in Nova Scotia. I actually showed a very old photo of the bandstand on one of my posts.

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  8. Now that you mention it, the blossums certainly do look like lilies. I have not seen this tree in Florida, but you mentioned that it was in the magnolia family, and I do have a beautiful magnolia growing directly across the street from me. When in bloom, the scent is intoxicating!

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    1. Apparently the Liriodendron blooms collect honey flavoured nectar in the bottom of them which can be drunk.

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  9. Well, I am glad that I didn't pop back to the previous post for a guess, as I would never have guessed this in a million years as I have never seen one of these flowers that I am aware of. It is beautiful though!! xx

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    1. They are lovely flowers Amy, and you really need to know and recognise the trees because the leaves are so green and dense they tend to hide the beautiful blossoms.

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  10. Beautiful tree! I have never seen one, and the blooms were completely new to me but google works wonders when you want to find or know something ;) Yes, I admit it, that's how I found the answer once more, I'm not excactly the garden expert who just happens to know these things. Enjoyed your quiz Rosemary!
    Marian

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    1. I was perhaps over generous with the amount of blossom I showed Marian, however, you have got to be number one Google finder expert.

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  11. I have never seen one of these trees in real life and now feel stupid that I thought it was honeysuckle - duh! Oh well I never pretended to be an expert. Such a beautiful tree with lovely flowers.

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    1. You were not alone Elaine so please don't feel stupid at least 5 people thought that it was honeysuckle - I think perhaps because of its colouring.

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  12. Oh well,...I have never been able to get up close to a blossom of the Tulip Tree (obviously, because I'm only 5'7" when I stretch up!) but in the first photo, once I got past that beautiful flower, my eyes landed on that unique shape of the leaf (not like any other plant that I'm aware of) and I thought - Tulip Tree - but having no idea about the bloom, I didn't even bother to search for what the bloom looks like. I like challenges, Rosemary! Thanks!

    Mary in Oregon

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    1. You are right Mary the leaf is one of the big give aways to a Tulip Tree as the leaves are such an extraordinary shape. Glad you like a challenge I may do another one in a few months time.

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