American Sycamore Vs. Tulip Poplar
The tulip poplar, also called the yellow poplar or tulip tree, grows in the eastern United States. So does the American sycamore, yet the sycamore extends even further west. These are two of the largest hardwood trees within their range. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Size
-
Tulip trees can grow to 150 feet, and they are the highest of the hardwood trees growing in the east. The sycamore can be 100 feet high, but it's a massive tree, with some having trunk diameters of over 10 feet.
Leaves
-
The leaves of the tulip poplar resemble the cutout outline of a tulip in their shape. Sycamore leaves are as wide as 8 inches and have three or five lobes.
-
Flowers
-
The flowers of the tulip poplar help give the tree its name, looking like the cup-shaped tulip; however, these flowers are green with orange bases. Sycamores have small green drooping clusters of male and female flowers that resemble balls.
Families
-
The tulip poplar is a member of the magnolia family of trees, while the American sycamore is one of the six species of the genus of planetrees.
Wood
-
The wood of the tulip poplar becomes furniture, musical instruments, crates and pulpwood. Artisans turn the wood of the American sycamore into butcher blocks, particleboard, furniture parts and flooring.
-
