Campus Tree Tour
Magnoliaceae – Magnolia Family
In 2024, this yellow-poplar was 43.5 feet tall and had a diameter of 9 inches. Based on USDA Forest Service models it will absorb approximately 1,689 lbs. of carbon over the next 20 years. Put simply, this tree alone will offset up to 6,833 car miles worth of carbon dioxide.
See all species on our Campus Tree Tour.
Introduction
The yellow-poplar, or the tuliptree, is a towering tree native to the Eastern United States. Its unique leaves, shaped like a tulip or a cat’s face, paired with its colorful flowers and textured grey bark, create a striking tree in both natural and urban settings. The yellow-poplar holds cultural, ecological, and commercial importance, resulting in a highly valuable tree.
Physical Description
Life expectancy: Up to 300 years
Height: 80 – 100 feet
Crown: 30 – 50 feet
Diameter: 30 – 45 inches, up to 60 inches
Bark: Grey with long shallow vertical fissures that become thicker as it matures.
Leaves: Deciduous, simple, and alternately arranged upon the twig with long petioles. Leaves have prominent ‘V’ notch on the terminal lobe (end of leaf), making the leaf look like a tulip or the face of a cat. Green and glabrous (smooth) on top of the leaves, and underneath it is a paler green with slight pubescence (hairs).
Twigs: Stipular scars that completely encircle the twig creating thin bands down the twig; a common characteristic of the magnolia family.
Flowers: Yellowish green cup-like flowers with 6 petals and a deep orange band within the interior. Blossoms mid-spring and resembles a tulip.
Fruits: Matures in the fall, medium sized (2 to 3 inches), cone-like fruit with a woody appearance. Sits upright upon the twig and the seeds have wings that break off.
Key Identification Characteristics: bark, leaf shape, found in hardwood ecosystems
Past and Present Uses
The yellow-poplar was prized for its beauty, and it was one of the first tree species to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to Britain for cultivation. Back in the U.S., the tree had other uses. For instance, the indigenous Cherokee people would use its leaves to treat headaches, its wood for lumber, cradles, and canoes, and its pulpwood for papermaking.
Currently, yellow-poplar is popular within the northern hardwood market due to the wood’s versatility. Although it may not be as valuable as oak and cherry, its rapid growth rate makes it a good commercial species. The tree’s lumber is used for various furniture products, and it produces knotless boards for interior wood pieces. Yellow-poplar wood is also used for pulpwood, veneer in plywood, and structural frames. Outside of the hardwood market, the tree is planted for its beauty as a landscape tree. Found in parks and gardens, it requires adequate space to flourish.
Ecological Importance
Origin: Native to the United States
Native Range: Found throughout the eastern United States from southern Ontario to New England, south to central Florida and Louisiana.
Figure 1. Native range of Yellow-Poplar. Image credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Yellow-poplar’s wide geographic distribution gives it the ability to thrive in a variety of climatic conditions and soil types. However, they do not grow well in extremely dry or wet sites. In general, the tree grows best on moderately moist, well drained soils on mesic slopes and nutrient rich bottomlands that do not extensively flood. Within these areas, the yellow-poplar is commonly associated with a variety of species such as tupelos, bald cypress, red maple, loblolly pine, sweetgum, and hickories.
The seeds of yellow-poplar are an important food source for small mammals like rabbits and squirrels, as well as birds like quails and finches. Other animals consume the tree’s phloem, like the yellow-bellied sapsucker, or consume nectar from the flowers, like the ruby-throated hummingbird.
More Information
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST363
References
Ballard, M. (n.d.). Liriodendron tulipifera L. (Magnoliaceae). Oxford Plants 400. https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400/Profiles/KL/Liriodendron#:~:text=Tulip%20tree&text=It%20was%20introduced%20into%20British,parks%20and%20gardens%20ever%20since
Beck, D. E. (n.d.). Yellow-Poplar. Liriodendron tulipifera L. https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/liriodendron/tulipifera.htm
Gilman, E. F., Watson, D. G., Klein, R. W., Koeser, A. K., Hilbert, D. R., & McLean, D. C. (2019b). Enh-522/ST363: Liriodendron tulipifera: Tuliptree. Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST363
Griffith, R. S. (1991). Liriodendron tulipifera. In: Fire Effects Information System. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/lirtul/all.html
i-Tree. (2006). Tree tools - calculate the benefits of trees!. i-Tree. https://www.itreetools.org/