The History of the Tulip Tree

The Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is the tallest of the North American hardwood trees, and known for its lovely orange and yellow tulip-shaped flowers in spring.

Description

Native to the eastern United States, the tulip tree is hardy in zones 4 to 9. Its distinctive leaves have four points, and turn a brilliant yellow in the fall. Some of the largest tulip trees may reach a height of up to 150 feet and have a diameter of 3 to 4 feet.

Canoe Wood

The tulip tree's light buoyant wood made it a favorite of both Native Americans and early settlers in canoe construction, according to ArborDay.org. Pioneers also used the wood to help float rafts of heavy oak and walnut logs.

Building America

The wood of the tulip tree is soft and easily worked, and American settlers found it invaluable for building colonial homes and log cabins, in addition to numerous household and farm necessities like dishes, buckets, troughs, wagon beds and buggies, says the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois.

Medicinal Uses

The tulip tree once served as a source of medicine. Native Americans used an extract made from the tree to treat inflammation and infection. American settlers reportedly used it for fever, bruises and swelling, and to treat worms and jaundice, according to the Floral Genome Project.

Giants Are Gone

In the early history of our country, it was not unusual to find gigantic tulip trees, reaching 200 feet tall and 12 feet in diameter. Today, except for some possible specimens in the Great Smoky Mountains, tulip trees of this stature no longer exist.

References

• ArborDay: Tuliptree
• Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Illinois): The Tulip Tree
• The Floral Genome Project: Tulip-tree