How to Identify Yellow Poplar
The Tennessee state tree, the Liriodendron tulipifera "Yellow Poplar" belongs to the magnolia family. People use poplar hardwood for items such as musical instruments, furniture, toys, lumber, and pulp for paper. Yellow poplar trees also benefit wildlife such as deer, birds, and small animals by supplying them with food and a place to nest. It will not take you long to identify yellow poplar trees, since they have distinct characteristics. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Examine the tree, and you will discover the yellow poplar has a straight, dark-gray trunk, growing up to 120 feet tall. The trunk develops furrows with a chalky-white or silver-white color in between the ridges throughout the tree. The trunk becomes thick as it ages and can extend up to 3 feet in width.
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Observe the 3- to 6-inch-long leaves with four lobes. Turn the dark-green leaves over, and you will find them pale-green in color.
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Notice the large, attractive flowers on the yellow poplar tree during the spring. Look up to see these flowers, since they sit up high on the tree. The cup-shaped orange and yellow flowers can grow up to 2 inches long. These flowers look like a tulip blossom, giving the yellow poplar tree the name "tulip tree."
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Note the 3-inch-long, cone-shaped fruits of the yellow poplar tree. The fruits release seeds, which are eaten by birds and animals, including mice, northern cardinals, purple finches and eastern gray squirrels. After the seeds are eaten, the seed pods look like tiny, peeled bananas that stand vertically along the upper tree branches.
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Observe how all the leaves turn a bright, golden yellow during the fall on the yellow poplar, making this tree an attractive ornamental for your landscape.
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