The Tulip Tree
Common Names
: Canoe tree, Yellow Poplar, White Wood, Blue Poplar, Yellow WoodBotanical Name:
Liriodendron tulipiferaHabitat:
The Tulip Tree is one of the tallest trees found in eastern North America. It lives from Vermont, west through Ontario and Michigan, south to Louisiana, and east to Florida.Description:
This is a fast growing tree. One of the straightest and tallest, it can reach a height of 200 feet. It grows best in moist, well-drained deep soil and is sensitive to high ozone concentrations.
The leaves are about 2-5 inches broad. In the spring, they are light green, changing to a shiny, dark green in summer. By fall, they are yellow. When the tree is 10-20 years old, in late spring, the delicate tulip-like flowers appear. They are green-yellow with orange at the end of the petals. Sometimes they are hard to see because they are hidden behind the leaves. The flowers also produce a lot of nectar. A young tree will produce enough nectar to yield 4 pounds of honey.
After it flowers, the tree makes light brown seed that is cone-shaped. These seeds are called samaras. The tree will continue to produce seed for the next 200 years!
HOW TO GROW:
The Tulip tree is hardy to Zone 5. It is an excellent shade tree. It needs full sun and moist, well-drained deep soil. Trees with their roots in their original soil ball wrapped in burlap--should be planted only in early spring. Prune in winter.The Life Of A Tulip Tree
White-tailed deer, small mammals, and birds prefer the leaves and stems of the Tulip Tree above others. The deer will eat from the tree all year.
Northern bobwhites, purple finches, cottontails, red and gray squirrels, and white-footed mice eat the samaras. Ruby-throated hummingbirds consume the flower nectar. The tree is also home to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
What the Ancestors Knew
This tree is one of the finest and most useful trees of the forests. Many eastern Indian tribes used all parts of the tree. It provided medicine, shelter and transportation. The Lenape made large canoes for fishing with the tree. Some canoes were 40-50 feet long and could hold up to 40 people. Bowls, dishes, spoons all were made with the wood. The leaves where used as a remedy for gout and headache. The bark was collected in winter and pounded into a dry form, the inner bark of the roots being the most powerful. About half an ounce of this powder was then boiled in a pint of water. A cup of the decoction taken about 3 times a day.
The root bark was used to treat rheumatism, fever, and snake bites. It is a powerful purifier of the blood. Both the root bark and green seeds were used as 'sweating out' medicine for fever and for intestinal worms in children and horses. The tonic was used as purifier and stimulant to the body. The Cherokee made an ointment for sores and inflammation. The seeds were used as a laxative.
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Update - 1/8/99
