Nature Note: the Tulip Tree
By Brian Gasdorf

What do canoes and honey have in common—they can both get you into sticky situations! Actually, they’re both on the long list of items that can be made from the state tree of Kentucky, the tuliptree - Liriodendron tulipifera. This tree has numerous attributes – both functional and aesthetic. Because of the historical use of this tree, it has been given many common names including canoewood tree, whitewood tree, and yellow poplar.

The name “tuliptree” originates from the resemblance of the flowers to the familiar tulip flowers grown in our garden landscapes. The petals are greenish-yellow and have spots that make a spectacular orange ring when looking inside the flower cup. These flowers grow high in the canopy and produce an amazing amount of nectar which in turn attracts bees in force for a nectar-feeding-fiesta and yep, it makes great honey!

Another label - “king of the magnolias” has been given to the tuliptree and rightly so. It is in the magnolia family and has, in the past, attained heights up to 200 feet tall! This sun-loving tree is one of the largest deciduous trees in North America and grows noticeably straight and tall – the “Shaquille O’Neal of the forest”. The largest tuliptree on record in Kentucky is located in Jefferson Co. and measures over 22 feet in circumference, 117 feet tall, and has a 76-foot canopy spread!

In a time without automobiles, early Americans ventured up to this soaring forest giant and saw the makings for a fine canoe, a key mode of frontier transportation. Tuliptree wood is light and has trapped air spaces, which gives it a buoyant property. The “canoewood” tree trunk was hollowed out on top to make an excellent dug out canoe. In the late 1700’s, Daniel Boone made a 60-foot long tuliptree canoe large enough to load up his family and belongings to float down the Ohio River.

Tuliptrees are perhaps the most recognizable of trees in Kentucky forests. There are several ways to identify a tuliptree, but the easiest is to look at the leaves either on the tree itself or those that have fallen beneath it. The shiny leaves are uniquely shaped like a cat’s face with two points at the top (ears) instead of the typical single point. When you find one, stop for a moment, look up, and enjoy the historical contributions, natural significance, and stately beauty of this remarkable creation.

Brian Gasdorf is a biologist with Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives