The Tulip Tree of North America and Central China affords one of many examples of existing flowering plants which illustrate the close connexion between present distribution and past history. The genus Liriodendron, often cultivated in the south of England, is now represented by two species, the best known of which--the Tulip Tree, _Liriodendron tulipera_--extends from Vermont to Florida and westwards to Lake Michigan and Arkansas. The leaves bear a superficial resemblance to those of the Sycamore, but are as a rule easily distinguished by the truncated form of the apex; the specific name was suggested by the tulip-like form of the flowers. Fossil leaves of Liriodendron are not uncommon in the Cretaceous rocks of Disco Island in latitude 70° N., where they occur with other flowering plants which bear striking testimony to the mildness of the Cretaceous climate in high northern latitudes. One of the associated flowering plants is a species of Artocarpus, described by Dr Nathorst as _Artocarpus Dicksoni_ which bears a close resemblance to _A. incisa_ the bread-fruit tree of the southern tropics of the Old World. Without attempting to deal fully with the past history of Liriodendron, it may be confidently stated that the records of the rocks are consistent with the idea of antiquity suggested by the present distribution of the two surviving species. Islands such as Great Britain and Ireland, situated a short distance from a continent, contain many plants which are widely spread in different parts of the world, together with a very small number peculiar to the British Isles though closely allied to species on the neighbouring continent or to plants farther afield. The occasional recognition of species previously believed to be confined to Britain tends to reduce the short list of our endemic types.