Pyramidal in youth, oval to rounded with age. Partial shade tolerant only when young. UConn says the foliage has a "camphor odor" when bruised/crushed, which would be a fine description if I had any idea what that smelled like.
Robert Kourik, in The Tree and Shrub Finder, writes that it blocks on average 82% of sunlight in leaf and only 27% when bare, which is one of the best results of the trees tested, though Liriodendron tulipifera does even better.
Deer resistance is debated: NCSU, Missouri BG, and Dove/Woolridge say it is deer resistant, but Rutgers and JerseyYards.org say it is not. Similarly, Dove/Woolridge and Sunset claim salt tolerance, but JerseyYards.org and USDA directly contradict this, and none of Dirr, Stoecklein, and NCSU have the tree on their "salt tolerant" lists.
May re-establish slowly due to "fleshy, coarse" root system; NCSU therefore suggests spring planting. "Large, aggressive roots"; Dirr/Warren call it "among the worst for lifting concrete".
'Slender Silhouette' is a PHS Gold Medal Award honoree. 'Cherokee' is broader, hardier, and produces less fruit than most. 'Clydesform' (Emerald Sentinel) is compact, tight, formal, very dark green, and a light fruiter. 'Hapdell' (Happidaze) is fast-growing with very low fruit production and good fall color too. 'Rotundiloba' has rounded lobes rather than pointed (as the name implies), a more rounded and open form, greater susceptibility to early snow and ice damage (due to holding foliage later), and the best reputation for seedlessness (without being completely so).
Sources: White Oak, Sunset, NCSU, Dove/Woolridge, UFL, JerseyYards.org, Rutgers, UConn, Missouri BG, USDA, Dirr/Warren.
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