Tuliptree

(Liriodendron tulipifera)

Date Planted: Approximately 1935

Family: Magnoliaceae

Hardiness: Native, hardy to the Gorham, ME area; Zone 4-9

Mature Dimensions: 70-150 feet tall with a width of 35-50 feet

Habit: Generally free of branches for 60-70 % of its height; narrow, conical canopy at the tree's upper reaches

Bark: Gray to brown and furrowed into close, interlacing flattened ridges

Buds: ½ inch long, resembling a duck's bill, fuzzy and greenish to reddish brown

Leaves: Simple, alternate; 3-8 inches by 3-8 inches with a broad, flat apex and 3-4 gentle lobes nearer to the rounded base. Bright green summer leaves change to golden yellow in the fall

Flowers: Appear late June in the Gorham area; perfect, with 6 greenish-yellow petals in 2 rows, 2-3 inches tall and 1-2 ½ inches wide. Borne high in the tree, making them rather obscured; tulip like (hence the name)

Fruit: Greenish cone-like aggregate of samaras that turns brown in autumn and persists through the winter season. Individual samaras are initially released from the aggregate in October; seed dispersal continues into the winter and spring

Pests/Diseases: Aphids, and consequential sooty mold

Reference Pages: Dirr M.1998. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Stipes Publishing Co., Champaign IL.