A decade later - Fundação Luso-Americana

‘ catalpa-planting fever
first hit the us in 1870
[…] it was described
in portugal’s Journal of
practical Horticulture in
the late 1800s, but there
is no mention of any
large-scale use anywhere
in the country.
’
40 meters tall, the Virginia tulip trees
George Washington planted at Mount
Vernon in 1755 posed an insurmountable
challenge to the most audacious of bees;
so much so, that the grounds keepers had
to resort to the use of a crane to pollinate
the blossoms. “With TV cameras trained
on them, broadcasting the scene live to
millions of viewers, the crane hoisted a
human ‘bee’ to the treetops to pollinate
the flowers by hand.” 1
Basking in all the media attention, the giant
tulip trees – a species that originated in the
Cretaceous period – proved indeed that they
were the “great divas” of the American forest.
Such was their beauty, that in the mid-
19 th century, the horticultural publications
of the time would wax lyrical, calling it “a
celestial tree,” with a trunk that was “beautifully
proportioned and as smooth as a
Greek column,” and “artistic” leaves that
were “shaped like the arabesques of a
Moorish palace,” and with blossoms that
were “like lilies, pleasant to behold (…)
golden and shaded.” Defending their propagation
as an ornamental tree, despite the
notorious difficulties that stood in the way
of their being transplanted, a writer would
add, “Indeed it is easier to walk than it is
to dance, but as all those who wish to display
grace in their movements learn to dance
(...) likewise, all planters who desire to own
a particularly elegant tree, must learn how
to plant the liriodendron (tulip tree).” 2
In Portugal, the specialty papers of the
1800s shared their American counterparts’
enthusiasm for the tulip tree, which was
still uncommon in this country, and
expressed “admiration” for the huge size
and quality of the wood. At the Second
Agricultural Exhibition Porto on November
20, 1860, “a huge plank from a Virginia
tulip tree belonging to the Viscount of
Samodães” stopped visitors in their tracks,
and inspired a reporter from the rural Archive
to write, “this broad plank is notable for the
quality of its wood, which is devoid of knots
cuLTure
A tulip tree in pena national park in sintra.
Parallel no. 6 | FALL | WINTER 2011 65