Tulip Tree

tulip tree: see magnolia.

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tulip tree

 or tulip poplar or yellow poplar

Lofty North American ornamental and timber tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) of the magnolia family, not related to true poplars. It occurs in mixed hardwood stands in eastern North America. It is taller than all other eastern broad-leaved trees (up to 197 ft, or 60 m), and its trunk often has a diameter greater than 7 ft (2 m). Long-stemmed, bright-green leaves have two to four side lobes and blunted tips. Yellowish-green tuliplike flowers have six petals, orange at their bases, and three bright-green sepals. Other characteristics include conelike clusters of winged fruits; aromatic, purplish-brown twigs; stunning golden-yellow autumn leaves; winter buds resembling a duck's bill; and resistance to pests and diseases. The wood is used to manufacture furniture parts, plywood panels, paper, boxes, and crates.

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tulip tree

1. a North American magnoliaceous forest tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, having tulip-shaped greenish-yellow flowers and long conelike fruits

2. a similar and related Chinese tree, L. chinense

3. any of various other trees with tulip-shaped flowers, such as the magnolia

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tulip tree [′tü·ləp ‚trē]

(botany)

Liriodendron tulipifera.A tree belonging to the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae) distinguished by leaves which are squarish at the tip, true terminal buds, cone-shaped fruit, and large greenish-yellow and orange-colored flowers. Also known as tulip poplar.

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Tulip Tree 

(Liriodendron tulipifera), also whitewood, a deciduous tree of the family Magnoliaceae. The trunk measures 50–60 m in height and 3–3.5 m in diameter. The lyrate leaves have four to six lobes and are notched at the apex. The large greenish yellow flowers measure 5–6 cm across and resemble tulip blossoms; they are solitary and are borne at the ends of branches. The perianth consists of three tripartite circles, and the numerous stamens and carpels are arranged in a spiral. The nutlike fruits are one- or two-seeded and winged; they are gathered in a conelike fashion on the elongate single axis.

The tulip tree is native to eastern North America. It is one of the most ornamental trees. In the USSR the tree is grown on the Black Sea Coast of the Caucasus, in the Crimea and other regions of the European USSR, and in the southern regions of Middle Asia. The wood, which is known as tulipwood or yellow poplar, is lightweight, soft, and easily worked. It is used in the production of plywood, furniture, the housing of radio receivers, the body of musical instruments, and various other wooden articles.

L. chinense, a closely related species of the tulip tree, grows in China and northern Indochina. It is less frequently cultivated than the tulip tree.

REFERENCE

Derev’ia kustarniki SSSR, vol. 3. Moscow-Leningrad, 1954.