First issue in this exciting new series that explores the diversity and beauty of Canada’s forests!

The Carolinian forest zone is located in the southernmost region of Ontario, between Windsor and Toronto, extending east along the shore of Lake Ontario to Bellville, and north to Goderich. Every spring, it bursts into bloom with large tulip-like flowers that grow on the tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera); a stunning, fast-growing tree that grows up to 35 metres tall. The Carolinian forest represents only 1% of Canada’s total land area, but has the greatest number of flora and fauna species of any Canadian ecosystem—including 1/3 of all the rare, threatened and endangered species found in Canada.

Canadian artist Julius Csotonyi has created a stunning design that celebrates the tulip-tree beauty of the Carolinian forest by portraying one of its most captivating residents, the tulip- tree. The coin’s foreground is dominated by a springtime bloom that has been painstakingly enhanced in colour to showcase its yellow-green petals with red-orange stripes and unusual forked leaves. In the background, tulip-trees tower above to form the forest canopy and provide a sense of scale for this floral star of the Carolinian forest.

An original gift for people living within Canada’s smallest, and loveliest forest zone—wherever tulip-trees grow along the south shore of Lake Huron, the north shore of Lake Erie and the Niagara Peninsula!