On my morning walk today, I noticed tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) flowers for the first time. The tree itself is easy to identify, even for me, a transplanted ponderosa pine forester from the West. It’s a lovely, tall shade tree with distinctive leaves.
The tree is neither poplar nor tulip; it’s related to the magnolia. So where did the name come from? Some folks say it’s because, like poplars, their leaves tremble in the wind—but the leaves aren’t poplar-shaped at all. They remind me of . . . you guessed it . . . a tulip! However, the flowers (aside from their color) look (to me) more like magnolia blooms than tulips. The scientific name can be loosely translated as “tulip-bearing lily tree.” They seem to attract both hummingbirds and a variety of butterflies.
The flowers are hard to see from the ground because the bottoms are greenish and they blend in with the leaves. The example pictured above dropped onto the road, providing me my first opportunity to examine one closely.
According to the NC Extension, these trees often grow 90-120 feet tall, with a diameter of four to six feet. They’ve been known to reach 200 feet in height and eight to ten feet in diameter. It’s one of the largest native trees in North America and can be found from southern Ontario to the central and eastern U.S. The tulip poplar grows naturally in mesic forests, cove forests at least 1,500 feet in elevation, bottomland forests, and swamps. It does best in deep, moist soils along streams and lower mountain coves. Native Americans used this tree for building canoes and the inner bark for medicine. It is the State tree of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana.
We have several tulip poplars in the woods behind the house. They provide deep shade, secure bird nesting habitat, and a marvelous platform for squirrel shenanigans.
#tulippoplar #tuliptree #morningwalk
Photo by S. G. Benson
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