The mystery tree #57 is Liriodendron tulipifera. This stately native tree is commonly called tulip tree or yellow poplar. It is a deciduous tree of eastern North America that typically grows 60-90' (less frequently to 150’) tall with a pyramidal to broad conical habit. Trunks of mature trees may reach 4-6’ in diameter, usually rising column-like with an absence of lower branching. It is named and noted for its cup-shaped, tulip-like flowers that bloom in spring. Flowers are yellow with an orange band at the base of each petal. Sometimes the tulip like flowers are first noticed when the attractive petals begin to fall below the tree. Flowers are followed by dry, scaly, oblong, cone-shaped brown fruits, each bearing numerous winged seeds. The four-lobed bright green leaves (to 8” across) turn golden yellow in fall. Wood is used inter alia for furniture, plywood, boatbuilding, paper pulp and lumber. Native Americans made dugout canoes from tuliptree trunks. This is the state tree of Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana.

Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information Service

Note: This information is from the NYBG Citizen Science Program