American tuliptree

Descrizione

Liriodendron tulipifera—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, lynn-tree, hickory-poplar, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron (the other member is Liriodendron chinense). It is native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario and possibly southern Quebec west to Illinois, and east to southwestern Massachusetts, then south to central Florida and Louisiana. The tulip tree is the tallest tree of the Nearctic temperate deciduous forest. It can grow to more than 50 m (160 ft) in virgin cove forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 25–30 m (80–100 ft) in height, making it a very valuable timber tree. This species is also fast-growing, without the common problems of weak wood strength and short lifespan often seen in fast-growing species. In 2024 the unusual combination of rapid growth with strong wood was explained. No longer called hardwood, tulip tree lumber is now called "midwood," a term created expressly for this wood. The tulip tree is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.