Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Location and Notable Facts

  • Other names
    • Tuliptree
    • Yellow-Poplar
  • Scientific Family
    •  Magnoliaceae (Magnolia Family)
  • Discovery
    • N/A 
  • Size (Width/Height/Growth/DBH)
    • Height – can reach well over 100 feet with a diameter of over 7 feet.
  • Colors
    • Fall color is a yellow to golden leaf.
  • Bloom/Seed/Fruit
    • It has beautiful greenish yellow tulip-shaped flowers with bright orange areas around the base.

tulip bloomPhoto credit to University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Leaf Arrangement
    •  Simple, alternate resembling a tulip 4 to 6 inches long

tulip leaf

Photo credit to University of Kentucky

  • Bark Arrangement
    •  Deeply furrowed, ridged, brown rather thick bark

Liriodendron_tulipifera_bark_envirorunner_ccby20

Photo credit to NC State University

  • Invasive/Non-invasive
    •  Non-Invasive
  • Native/Non-native
    •  Native to Eastern Arkansas
  • Pests/Disease
    •  Aphids often infest the trees during the summer, producing a black sooty mold on the leaves and a sappy mess on anything beneath the tree.
  • Comparisons to similar trees
    •  N/A
  • Usefulness
    •  Ornamental but are fast growing, with somewhat weak wooded, so don’t plant them too near the house.
  • Local Location / History:  
  • Located at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts on Whittington Avenue 
  • On March 21, 1994, the Hot Springs Parks and Recreation Department planted this tulip poplar tree in recognition of Arbor Day on the lawn in front of Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science and the Arts Administration Building. The tree is a descendant of a tulip poplar planted in 1785 by George Washington himself at Mount Vernon, Washington’s estate in Virginia.
tulip poplar