Part 7 (1/2)

THE papaw, which grows as a small tree or large shrub, is very well known throughout the State, except in the northern parts, and is sometimes called the ”wild banana” tree. Most commonly it occurs as an undergrowth in the shade of rich forests of the larger hardwood trees.

Its range extends from New York westward to Iowa and southward to Florida and eastern Texas. When growing alone, however, it forms dense clumps on deep, moist soils in creek bottoms. The _bark_ is thin, dark grayish-brown, and smooth, or slightly fissured on old trees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PAPAW

Leaf, one-quarter natural size. Twig, two-thirds natural size.]

The _leaves_ are alternate on the stem, pear-shaped with pointed ends and tapering bases, smooth and light green above, from 8 to 10 inches long, cl.u.s.tered toward the ends of the branches.

The dark purple, attractive _flowers_ appear with the leaves singly or in two's along the branch, measure nearly 2 inches across, and produce nectar which attracts the bees.

When thoroughly ripe, the _fruit_ is delicious and nutritious. It measures from 3 to 5 inches in length, turns from greenish-yellow to very dark brown in color, and holds rounded or elongated seeds which separate readily from the pulp.

The _wood_ is light, soft or spongy, and weak, greenish to yellowish in color, and of no commercial importance.

Because of its handsome foliage, attractive flowers and curious fruit, the papaw has been much used in ornamental planting.

+Sa.s.sAFRAS+ _Sa.s.safras albidum_ Nees.

THE sa.s.safras is an aromatic tree, usually not over 40 feet in height or a foot in diameter in Illinois. It is common throughout the State on dry soils as far north as La Salle County, and is one of the first broad-leaf trees to come up on abandoned fields, where the seeds are dropped by birds. Its range extends from Maine, southern Ontario to Iowa and south to Florida and west to Texas. In parts of its range it attains large size.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Sa.s.sAFRAS

Twig, one-half natural size. Leaf, one-third natural size.]

The _bark_ of the trunk is thick, red-brown and deeply furrowed and that of the twigs is bright green.

The _leaves_ are very characteristic. It is one of the few trees having leaves of widely different shape on the same tree, or even on the same twig. Some are oval and entire, 4 to 6 inches long; others have one lobe, resembling the thumb on a mitten; while still others are divided at the outer end into 3 distinct lobes. The young leaves and twigs are quite mucilaginous.

The _flowers_ are cl.u.s.tered, greenish, yellow, and open with the first unfolding of the leaves. The staminate and pistillate flowers are usually on different trees. The _fruit_ is an oblong, dark blue or black, l.u.s.trous berry, containing one seed and surrounded at the base by what appears to be a small orange-red or scarlet cup at the end of a scarlet stalk.

The _wood_ is light, soft, weak, brittle, and durable in the soil; the heartwood is dull orange-brown. It is used for posts, rails, boat building, cooperage and for ox-yokes. The bark of the roots yields the very aromatic oil of sa.s.safras much used for flavoring candies and various commercial products.

The sa.s.safras deserves more consideration than it has received as a shade and ornamental tree. The autumnal coloring of its foliage is scarcely surpa.s.sed by any tree, and it is very free from insect pests.

+SWEET GUM+ _Liquidambar styraciflua_ L.

THE sweet or red gum is a very common tree on low lands in southern Illinois, but it is seldom found north of Jackson County in the west or north of Richland in the east. It is usually abundant in old fields or in cut-over woods. The _bark_ is a light gray, roughened by corky scales, later becoming deeply furrowed. After the second year the twigs often develop 2 to 4 corky projections of the bark, which give them a winged appearance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SWEET GUM

Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig, two-thirds natural size.]

The simple, alternate star-shaped _leaf_, with its 5 to 7 points or lobes, is 5 to 7 inches across and very aromatic. In the fall its coloring is brilliant, ranging from pale yellow through orange and red to a deep bronze.

The _flowers_ are of two kinds on the same tree, unfolding with the leaves. The _fruit_ at first glance reminds one of the b.a.l.l.s of the sycamore, but on closer inspection proves to be a head. It measures an inch or more in diameter and is made up of many capsules with projecting spines. It frequently hangs on the tree by its long swinging stem late into the winter.

The _wood_ is heavy, moderately hard, close-grained, and not durable on exposure. The reddish-brown heartwood, which suggests the name, red gum, is not present to any appreciable extent in logs under 16 inches in diameter. In the South, the wood is extensively used for flooring, interior finish, paper pulp and veneers for baskets of all kinds.

Veneers of the heartwood are largely used in furniture, sometimes as imitation mahogany or Circa.s.sian walnut. This tree should be more widely planted for ornamental use.