As we drove from the airport to home, I saw these beautiful tall trees with painted flowers. My curiosity was satisfied when I described the tree to my sister and she immediately exclaimed that it was the American Tulip Tree!
The other common names are Tulip Tree, American tulip tree, Tulip poplar, and Yellow poplar. The botanical name is Liriodendron tulipifera and belongs to Magnoliaceae (Magnolia) family. As the name suggests, American Tulip Tree is native to North America.
It is a deciduous tree that reaches to a height of over 30 meters. The trunk diameter can be up to 4-6 ft. The tree naturally grows can take a conical shape or when not pruned, it grows to a broad columnar shape.
The leaves are alternate and are 5 to 6 inches long.
The cup-shaped flowers look like Tulips, and they are 1.5 inches across and about 2 to 2.5 inches in length. The flowers are greenish yellow with orange markings, borne at the branch tips. Flowering is during March and April.
The fruit is brown, scaly cone-shaped fruit.
