Tuliptree

Scientific Name: Liriodendron tulipifera

Family: Magnoliaceae

Origin: Eastern US

Tuliptree

Why is it called Tuliptree? It has leaves that are shaped like tulips.

Common Names: Tulip Tree, Tulip Poplar and Yellow Poplar

Mature Height: 70-100 feet

Mature Width/Spread: 40 feet

Leaves: Bright green leaves that resemble tulips! Leaves are 3 to 7 inches long with four triangular lobes.

In the fall, the leaves become: Bright yellow

Flowers? Yes. In May and June, tulip-shaped flowers 1 ½ – 2” in diameter with 6 greenish-yellow petals that have a small amount of orange at the base

Can you identify a Tuliptree by its bark? Yes. The bark has channels and depressions that look like they contain silver-white chalk dust. 

Historical tidbit: George Washington planted Tuliptrees at Mount Vernon which are now 140 feet tall

Did you know …

  • Tuliptrees have also been called canoe trees because Native Americans used them to make canoes.
  • Daniel Boone made a 60 foot-long canoe from a Tuliptree that he rowed down the Ohio River with his family.
  • The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the greatest population of Tuliptrees greater than 20 feet in circumference.
  • The Tuliptree is the state tree of Kentucky.
Tuliptree Bark
Tuliptree Bark
Tuliptree Leaves & Flower