FNPS Plant Database

Liriodendron tulipifera

tulip-tree, yellow-poplar
  • Photo by: Eleanor Dietrich, Magnolia Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

tulip-tree, yellow-poplar

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Liriodendron tulipifera

Family:

Magnoliaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

70-100 ft tall by 50 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow,green

Fruit Color:

Phenology:

Deciduous. Blooms mid- to late spring. Fruits ripen in late spring. Yellow fall color. Life span 200+ years.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Large shade tree.

Considerations:

Not particularly wind tolerant as a stand-alone specimen because of brittle wood and shallow root system.

Availability:

Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Stays wet ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam, Organic

Soil pH:

Acidic to neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



Don't know your zone? Click here to search by zip code.

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Caterpillars, Hummingbirds

Larval host for eastern tiger swallowtail ( Papilio glaucus )





Attracts bees. 

Provides cover for birds and mammals.





Said to attract hummingbirds.

Native Habitats:

Mesic forests, 2nd bottom, upland hardwood forests.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

While its common name is tulip poplar, it is not related to poplars--it is a member of the magnolia family. Source of the name probably comes from the nature of the light-colored wood.



Noted as a good honey plant.



Its range in Florida appears to be disjunct.  However, there is no reason to believe that this plant would cause issues if planted outside of that range.  It is said not to perform well to the south of its range.

Citations:

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/bjorkman/lab/arboretum/trees/l_tulipifera.html



https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=litu



Beck, Donald E.    Liriodendron tulipifera.  USFS Southern Research Station. .    https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/liriodendron/tulipifera.htm



Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H.; [Technical coordinators] 1990. Silvics of North America: Volume 2. Hardwoods. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook 654 ( https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/1548 ). 



Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell.  1999.  Native Florida Plants.  Gulf Publishing Company.  Houston, TX.



Minno, Marc and Maria Minno.  1999. Florida Butterfly Gardening.  University Press of Florida. 



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



Tras, Pamela. 2001.  Gardening for Florida's butterflies.  Great Outdoors Publishing, St. Petersburg, FL.



University of Tennessee Extension Service.  Desired Ph Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants.    https://extension.tennessee.edu/mtnpi/Documents/handouts/Fertility/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf   accessed 2021.



Watkins, John and Thomas Sheehan.  1975.  Florida Landscapt Plants, Native and Exotic. University Presses of Florida, Gainesville. (light, soil, salt)



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu /).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Request an update