Fresh green fruit on the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park
We are in the middle of a mini heatwave here in Cardiff – although it is even hotter around London and the South East of the UK, where temperatures may get near to 40C over the weekend, according to the forecasts.
It was slightly overcast but still muggy when I visited Victoria Park to check up on the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) yesterday.
This time the main feature was an abundance of new fruits. It was when I looked these up on Wikipedia that I realised I had not properly described the flowers on my previous visit. So here goes…
According to Wikipedia the flowers are 3–10 cm in diameter and have nine tepals — three green outer sepals and six inner petals which are yellow-green with an orange flare at the base. Flowers of L. tulipifera have a faint cucumber odour [clearly I did not get close enough to notice this].
The stamens and pistils are arranged spirally around a central spike or gynaecium. The stamens fall off, and the pistils become the samaras. The fruit is a cone-like aggregate of samaras 4–9 cm long, each of which has a roughly tetrahedral seed with one edge attached to the central conical spike and the other edge attached to the wing.
Here are my latest pictures…
Another fruit among mature leaves that seem coated in dust or honeydew
This fruit seems to have ripened and dried out more quickly than the others
Distinctive saddle leaf
A smaller, yellowing leaf…
…and one or two leaves have already fallen – perhaps because of the hot, dry, weather? Although the roots of the tulip tree are known to go very deep in the ground and we had a lot of rain to soak into the earth before the heatwave
Dappled sunlight among the leaves…
…and on the bark…
…and looking up among the branches
Looking back at the tulip tree as I walked away to the north
That’s it for now – let’s do it all again in August – and meanwhile my other tulip tree posts can be found here.
The Squirrelbasket 
Interesting post and pictures. The dry, warm weather is causing trees to start dropping their leaves, as yours is doing.
Indeed, we could do with a good rainstorm to top things up again.
Here in Cardiff we seem to just miss a lot of the storms, which skirt around us to east or west.
All the best 🙂
The leaves have a strange shape. They remind me of the siluette of the character Jakob uggla in the children´s tv-show Fablernas värld that often appeared on children’s hour on TV when I was little. Or maybe the siluette of some cartoon ghosts or cats.
Jakob uggla = Mr Owl = original Dutch: Meneer/Jakob de Uil
Fablernas värld = The Daily Fable = original Dutch: De Fabeltjeskrant
I see what you mean about ghosts or cats. I must admit I hadn’t thought of that.
I Googled Jakob uggla – what a shame the TV series was never translated into English!
All the best 🙂