TULIP TREE
Liriodendron tulipifera L.
Other Names: Yellow Poplar; Tulip Poplar.
Growth Form: Stately tree up to 100 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 4 feet; crown oblong or pyramidal from a long, columnar trunk.
Bark: Grayish, becoming deeply furrowed at maturity; furrows often whitish within.
Twigs: Smooth, reddish-brown; leaf scars alternate, nearly spherical, with several bundle traces, with stipule scars encircling the twig.
Buds: Flattened, up to 1 inch long, resembling duckbills.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades divided into four broad lobes, the upper two lobes usually with a conspicuous notch between them, bright green, averaging 4 to 6 inches long and broad.
Flowers: About two inches long, cup-shaped, with six yellow-green petals with an orange base surrounding a cone-shaped cluster of pistils; opening in May.
Fruit: Dry “cones” about 2½ inches long, composed of several winged seeds.
Wood: Soft, durable.