||Lir`i*o*den"dron (l&ibreve;r`&ibreve;*&osl;*d&ebreve;n"dr&obreve;n), n.; pl. Liriodendra (- dr&adot;). [NL., fr. Gr. lei`rion lily + de`ndron tree.] (Bot.) A genus of large and very beautiful trees of North America, having smooth, shining leaves, and handsome, tuliplike flowers; tulip tree; whitewood; -- called also canoewood. Liriodendron tulipifera is the only extant species, but there were several others in the Cretaceous epoch.