Tulip tree (yellow poplar) (Liriodendron tulipifera) — Plotwright

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Tulip tree (yellow poplar)

Habit (mature) · High Contrast / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 DE

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Tulip tree (yellow poplar)

Liriodendron tulipifera

One of the tallest native hardwoods in eastern North America (reaching 200 feet in old-growth) with tulip-shaped greenish-yellow flowers (4-lobed leaves with notched tips give the species its name from the leaf shape, not just the flower). The canonical larval host for eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) per NC State, plus a major early-summer honey plant. Massive scale and weak wood make tulip tree unsuited to small lots — it's a tree for parks, woodlots, and naturalized areas.

Native: 29 US states + 1 CA province

Review: Source-backed

Climate fit: broad (83/100)

Focal point

Structure

Light

Full sun

Water

Moderate water

Mature size

960-1440" tall · 600" apart

Hardy in zones

4a-9b

very cold to frosty winters

Summer heat range

Cool-Hot

cool to hot summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.

Native in Illinois

Yes

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A documented larval host for the Eastern tiger swallowtail and 1 other species — caterpillars feed on its foliage before becoming the next generation.

Wildlife relationships

Cold hardiness

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7b

Plotwright

Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)

Well-suited

In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

°C

°F

Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 41 ecoregions — 40 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

Arizona Mountains forests

Atlantic coastal pine barrens

Blue Mountains forests

Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

Central Tallgrass prairie

Central-Southern Cascades Forests

Chilean Matorral

Pollination

Self-fertile

Perfect cup-shaped flowers (6 green-to-yellow petals with orange basal banding) are bee-pollinated and self-fertile. The flowers produce abundant nectar at the base of each petal — NC State notes the species is a meaningful honey-production resource, with "Yellow poplar honey" recognized as a regional product across the southeastern US.

Plants don't grow alone

Larval host

Moth

Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

Larval host

Butterfly

Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

NC State documents tulip tree as the primary larval host for Papilio glaucus, supporting three flights in the deep south (February-November) and one in the north (March-September). The wedge-relevant relationship for eastern butterfly-garden design: planting tulip tree is among the most direct ways to support local eastern tiger swallowtail populations.

Nectar forage

Butterfly

Spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

NC State notes spicebush swallowtails forage on tulip tree blooms; the bloom timing fits the second brood of this species.

Nectar forage

Bird

Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)

The cup-shaped flowers hold copious nectar at the petal base, well-suited to hummingbird feeding alongside the bee pollinator community.

Nectar forage

Bee

European honeybee (Apis mellifera)

Tulip tree honey is a recognized regional product across the southeastern US; the abundant late-spring nectar supports commercial apiaries during the late-spring nectar gap.

For people

Not eaten by humans

The wood is the major commercial use — "light, soft, and easily worked" per NC State, valued for furniture, plywood, boats, veneer, paper pulp, and general lumber. Historical Indigenous use included dugout canoes (the wood's combination of straight grain and large diameter made tulip-tree-trunks ideal) and medicinal bark preparations. No documented food use of any plant part.

Traditional medicinal use

NC State documents Indigenous medicinal use of tulip tree bark preparations across eastern North America. Modern internal use is not established and should not be inferred from traditional use.

Sources & citations

Cite this page

For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.

Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Tulip tree (yellow poplar) (Liriodendron tulipifera). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/tulip-tree

Sources for every fact

Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited — 18 source-backed.

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

University extension service

Backs 17 fields

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Wikimedia Commons

Photo · CC BY 3.0 DE

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