Getting to inspect the blooms of a tulip poplar while out for a walk is a treat, since they’re often visible only to those equipped with wings. The tallest native deciduous tree in all of North America, Liriodendron tulipifera sheds its lower limbs as it grows; in the right conditions, it can reach a staggering height of 150 feet. One might not even realize the tree flowers at all until the spent teacups begin to decorate the forest floor.
A predominantly Southeastern species, Liriodendron tulipifera grows tallest in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Here in Massachusetts, the species is at the very northern end of its range and is far less towering; the specimen in cultivation on Tremont Street in Provincetown, pictured here, has some lower limbs still intact.
