Tulip Tree

LEAVES: Alternate, simple, 4″-6″ in diameter, generally 4 lobed, bright green, turning yellow in autumn.

TWIGS: In spring and summer, green, sometimes with purplish tinge; during winter reddish brown, smooth, shiny. Buds large, smooth, flattened, “duck-billed.”

FRUIT: At first green, turning light brown when ripe in autumn; cone-like, 2½”-3″ long, made up of winged seeds. Greenish yellow tulip-like flowers in May or June.

BARK: Young trees dark green and smooth with whitish vertical streaks, older trunks dark gray and furrowed.

GENERAL: Also known as Yellow poplar, Tulip poplar, White poplar and Whitewood. A large tree, the tallest of the eastern hardwoods. It grows rapidly and is an important timber and shade tree. The wood is valuable for veneer and many other uses.

Songbirds and game birds, rabbits, squirrels and mice feed on the seeds. Whitetail deer browse the young growth