Basswood is a name applied to trees known in Europe and America as limes, lime trees, lind, linden, tiel, tiel trees, bass, and basswood trees. The trees and their wood were early esteemed, the first for their shade and appearance, and the last for their working qualities, which resemble, but are inferior to, whitewood.[49] The trees are characterized by their dense foliage and clusters of small cream-colored fragrant flowers, so attractive to bees as to have originated the further name bee-tree. _Tilia_ arises from the ancient name for these trees. [p082] FOOTNOTES [Footnote 48: F. Schuyler Matthews, "Familiar Trees" (Appleton, 1901), p. 39.] [Footnote 49: The carvings of Gibbons, a famous English artist, are said to have been made entirely of linden, no other available wood being so even-grained and free from knots. (Keeler.)] TULIP TREE, WHITEWOOD, YELLOW POPLAR. _Liriodendron tulipifera Linn._ Nomenclature. (Sudworth.) Tulip Tree, Whitewood, Yellow Poplar (local and common names). Poplar (R. I., Del., N. C., S. C., Fla., Ohio). Tulip Poplar (Del., Pa., S. C., Ill.). Hickory Poplar (Va., W. Va., N. C.). Blue Poplar (Del., W. Va.). Popple (R. I.). Cucumber Tree (N. Y.). Canoewood (Tenn.). Locality. New England to Florida, westward intermittently to Michigan and Mississippi. Features of Tree. Ninety to one hundred and fifty feet in height, six to twelve feet in diameter. Tulip-shaped flowers in spring. Greenish cones dry and remain after leaves have fallen. Color, Appearance, or Grain of Wood. Heartwood light yellow or greenish brown, thin sapwood, nearly white. Close, straight-grained, compact structure, free from knots. Structural Qualities of Wood. Light, soft, moderately strong, brittle, easily worked, durable. Hard to split, shrinks little, resembles white pine, stands well. Representative Uses of Wood. Lumber, interior finish, shingles, boat-building, pumps, woodenware, shelves, the bottoms of drawers. Weight of Seasoned Wood in Pounds per Cubic Foot. 26. Modulus of Elasticity. 1,300,000. Modulus of Rupture. 9300. Remarks. Very large trees formerly common. Indians hollowed logs into boats. "Some large enough to carry twenty or thirty persons" (Hough), whence name canoewood. Tulipifera, signifying turbans and to bear, refers to flowers. One of the largest as well as most useful of American deciduous trees. [p083] POPLAR, LARGETOOTH ASPEN. _Populus grandidentata Michx._ Nomenclature. (Sudworth.) Poplar, Largetooth Aspen (local and common names). Largetooth Poplar (N. C.). Large Poplar (Tenn.). White Poplar (Mass.). Popple (Me.). Large American Aspen (Ala.). Locality. Nova Scotia and Delaware, westward intermittently to Minnesota, Alleghany Mountains to Kentucky and Tennessee. Features of Tree. Sixty to eighty feet high, two feet or more in diameter. Irregular points or teeth on margins of leaves. Smooth gray bark.