Tulip/Yellow Poplar
(Magnoliaceae Liriodendron
tulipifera)
Adopted in 1947.
The tulip poplar, Magnoliaceae
Liriodendron tulipifera, was
designated as the official state tree of
Tennessee by Public Chapter 204 of the
Acts of the 1947 General Assembly. The
act stated that, as no state tree had
ever before been designated, the
adoption of an official tree seemed
appropriate.
The tulip poplar was chosen because
it was used extensively by the Tennessee
pioneers to construct their houses,
barns and other buildings. The tree
sometimes reaches a height of 200 feet
and frequently shows 50-100 feet of
trunk without a branch. The bark is
smooth and brownish gray. The leaves are
very smooth with a broad notch at the
tip. The flowers are tulip-like,
green-orange in color, and are 1-3
inches deep. In honor of the state's
Bicentennial celebration in 1996, the
yellowwood was named Tennessee's
bicentennial tree.
The following description of the
tulip poplar, the botanical name of
which is Liriodendron Tulipifera, is
taken from The Complete Guide to
North American Trees:
"Perhaps the most stately tree of
our range, it sometimes reaches a
height of 200 feet with a stem as
regular as though turned on a lathe
and frequently showing 50 to 100
feet of trunk without a branch. The
twigs are smooth, brownish gray,
becoming cracked into a regular
network of shallow, firm ridges; an
old trunk bro-ken into deep, rough
ridges. Its leaves are very smooth
and shin-ing with a broad notch at
the tip, usually four-lobbed, 2 to 8
inches long. Its flowers are
tulip-like, green orange, 1 to 3
inches deep. The fruit is cone-like
hanging on through the year, and is
2 to 3 inches long."
Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron
tulipifera), also called tuliptree,
tulip-poplar, white-poplar, and
whitewood, is one of the most attractive
and tallest of eastern hardwoods. It is
fast growing and may reach 300 years of
age on deep, rich, well-drained soils of
forest coves and lower mountain slopes.
The wood has high commercial value
because of its versatility and as a
substitute for increasingly scarce
softwoods in furniture and framing
construction. Yellow-poplar is also
valued as a honey tree, a source of
wildlife food, and a shade tree for
large areas.
Description:
- Leaf: Alternate, simple,
palmately veined, orbicular, 4-lobed
with an entire margin, 4 to 8 inches
long. Somewhat shaped like a tulip.
- Flower: Showy, but high
in the tree, 2 1/2 inches long, with
yellow-green petals and an orange
corolla. Present April to June.
- Fruit: An oblong
aggregate of samaras, deciduous at
maturity. Each samara is 1-winged, 1
1/2 inches long, and 4-angled.
Maturing August to October.
- Twig: Red-brown in color,
often with a shiny appearance or a
waxy bloom. Stipules are large and
encircle the twig. Buds are
elongated and valvate, resembling a
"duck bill". Twigs have a sweet,
spicy odor when broken.
- Bark: Light gray-green in
color, often with white in grooves
or in patches. Smooth when young,
developing flat-topped ridges and
furrows in diamond shaped patterns.
On older trees sapsucker holes are
common.
- Form: In a stand, this
tree is very straight with a
limb-free bowl. Open-grown trees
have a pyramidal crown when young,
becoming oval in shape.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta --
Vascular plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta – Seed
plants |
Division |
Magnoliophyta –
Flowering plants |
Class |
Magnoliopsida –
Dicotyledons |
Subclass |
Magnoliidae – |
Order |
Magnoliales – |
Family |
Magnoliaceae – Magnolia
family |
Genus |
Liriodendron L. –
tuliptree |
Species |
Liriodendron tulipifera
L. – tuliptree |
Tennessee
State Bicentennial Tree
Yellowwood State Tree
Cladrastis kentuckea (formerly
Cladrastis lutea)
Adopted in 1991.
The Yellowwood tree, Cladrastis
kentuckea, was designated as the
Official Bicentennial Tree of Tennessee
by Senate Joint Resolution Number 62 of
1991. The resolution stated that the
Yellowwood tree, scientifically known as
Cladrastis lutea, is a native Tennessee
ornamental tree of unsurpassed beauty,
worthy of being grown in yards and
public spaces across Tennessee and
should serve as a tribute to the
pioneering spirit of those individuals
whose courage and perseverance paved the
way for the settlement of the great
state of Tennessee.
The American Yellowwood is a medium
sized tree reaching 35' to 50' tall and
about the same in spread (40' - 50'
wide). The habit of yellowwood is vase
shaped to broad spreading when young,
then gradually opening to a broad
rounded form. Bright green leaves, which
are alternate, odd-pinnately compound
with 7-9 leaflets turn yellow in the
fall. The bark of Cladrastis is a very
smooth gray resembling that of a beech
tree. The wood just beneath the bark is
yellowish, hence the name yellowwood.
Flowers of the yellowwood are white,
pendulous terminal panicles, 10" - 12"
long, appearing in late May to early
June. Flowering tends to be heavy on
alternate years.
Yellowwood is native to Kentucky,
Tennessee, North Carolina and
surrounding states. Hardiness ranges
from Zone 4 to Zone 8. Yellowwood
tolerates a wide variety of soil
conditions. With the ability to
withstand limestone or acid soils as
well as being drought tolerant,
yellowwood should become a very popular
flowering landscape tree. Yellowwood is
seed propagated and field grown. It is
easily transplanted and establishes very
nicely. There are very few problems with
yellowwood. With its beautiful flowers,
fall color, adaptability, shape and
size, yellowwood could be one of our
most popular native trees for landscape
use.
Family: Leguminosae or Fabaceae
Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
Height: 40 ft Spread: 35 ft
Form: (Vis. 1) rounded
Type: deciduous tree
Annual Growth Rate: less than
12 inches
Leaf: Pinnately compound
leaflets are alternate along rachis,
Rachis base completely surrounds bud
Buds: Brown and fuzzy and leaf
scar completely encircles bud, as in
Platanus
Bark: Smooth light gray very
beechlike, quite attractive, and name
yellowwood comes from the yellow
heartwood
Flowers: White, pea-like
flowers, fragrant, in 10" to 16" long
clusters, bloom time is early June,
resembles wisteria flowers, and blooms
heavily every 2 or 3 years
Fruit: Flattened pod several
seeds 2.5" to 4" long green pods that
turn brown in October.
Culture: Full sun, likes
moist, fertile, well-drained soils, not
too particular about pH, prune in summer
to avoid "bleeding" that occurs in
winter and spring, and protect from
winter sun and wind
Range: Found only in the Blue
Ridge and Ridge and Valley regions of
Georgia, usually on limestone cliffs and
ridges and in Appalachian cove forests.
Very rare in the wild. Prefers
northfacing cove sites or river bank
bluffs
Use: Ornamental, lawn tree,
specimen for flowers and foliage, for
attractive winter bark, for attractive
fall foliage, and yellow dye and is used
for carvings.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta -- Vascular
plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta -- Seed plants |
Division |
Magnoliophyta -- Flowering
plants |
Class |
Magnoliopsida --
Dicotyledons |
Subclass |
Rosidae – |
Order |
Fabales – |
Family |
Fabaceae – Pea family |
Genus |
Cladrastis Raf. –
yellowwood |
Species |
Cladrastis kentukea
(Dum.-Cours.) Rudd –
Kentucky yellowwood |
|