Liriodendron tulipifera,commonly known as the American tulip tree, tulip poplar or yellow poplar, is the Western Hemisphere representative of the two-species Liriodendron genus. It is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario and Illinois eastward across southern New England and south to central Florida and Louisiana. It can grow to more than 50 m (165 feet) in virgin cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 25-30 m (80-100 feet) in height, making it a very valuable timber tree. It is fast-growing, without the common problems of weak wood strength and short lifespan often seen in fast-growing species. April marks the start of the flowering period in the southern USA (except as noted below); trees at the northern limit of cultivation begin to flower in June. The flowers are pale green or yellow (rarely white), with an orange band on the tepals; they yield large quantities of nectar. The American tulip tree is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
One of the largest and most beautiful of the native trees of the United States, known to reach the height of one hundred and ninety feet, with a trunk ten feet in diameter; its ordinary height, seventy to one hundred feet.
