Liriodendron tulipifera, State Tree of Indiana, Kentucky, & Tennessee

Liriodendron tulipifera, also known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tuliptree, tulip poplar, yellow poplar (not a poplar at all,but so named for its resemblance to poplar's fluttering leaves), whitewood, or canoewood (Appalachian Native Americans used them for their dugout canoes) is the tallest eastern hardwood.  A member of the Magnolia family, it is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario to central Florida and from Illinois through New England.  A majestic tree, it can grow to as tall as 190' with a 10' diameter trunk in virgin forests of the Appalachian Mountains, often with no limbs until it reaches 80-100' tall, making it a very valuable timber tree. It is fast-growing, but doesn't exhibit the common problems of wood weakness and short lifespan often seen in fast-growing species. It flowers in April in its southern range, June in more northerly areas. The flowers are pale green or yellow (rarely white), with an orange band on the tepals*.  Nectar is produced from the orange areas; in a good nectar-producing year, nectar will 'rain' from the trees in a breeze.  Trees generally start blooming at around 15 years old.

Two of these trees are probably the oldest living things in the New York metropolitan area.  The Alley Pond Park Giant in Queens is more than 135' tall and possibly as much as 450 years old.  The Clove Lake Colossus on Staten Island is more than 120' feet tall with a more massive trunk**.  The oldest known specimen was discovered near Forge Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; its age is estimated to be over 500 years--thus getting its start around the time of Columbus' voyage to the New World in 1492.

Large, beautiful flower of L. tulipifera

Leaf and bark

The tulip tree makes a stately landscape specimen in deep, well-drained loam rich in organic matter.  Grown in full sun, it does not attain maximum height; this is a result of its shade intolerance, so the tallest specimens are found in forests reaching for the sun.  There are several cultivars, some of which are relatively diminutive, such as 'Ardis Dwarf', a mere 12-18' tall, for smaller spaces; there is also a fastigiate (narrow columnar) form.  Because of its beauty, it has been introduced in many parts of the world, including west of the Mississippi River outside its natural range in North America. 

Young specimen showing brilliant fall color

The species is a major honey tree, producing a strongly flavored reddish honey much loved by bakers, but which gets mixed reviews as a table honey.  The soft, fine-grained wood of tulip trees is known as poplar or yellow poplar in the states, but marketed abroad as "American tulipwood" other names. It is very widely used where a cheap, easy-to-work and stable wood is needed. It is the wood of choice for use in organs and commonly used for siding clapboards. Its wood may be compared in texture, strength, and softness to white pine.  It has also been used for the interior finish of houses, for siding, for panels of carriages, for coffin boxes, furniture stock, veneer, pulpwood, and wooden ware. It has a reputation for being resistant to termites, and in the Upland South (and perhaps elsewhere) house and barn sills were often made of tulip poplar beams. 

The fruits provide food for squirrels in the late fall and winter months, and white-tailed deer often browse on the twigs.



Massive trunk of mature specimen near Forge Creek in Great Smoky Mountains NP

Photo copyright:  Neil Pederson

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~adk/oldlisteast/Spp/LITU.html

*The outer part of a flower sometimes referred to as petals and sepals.
**See http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/10/arts/a-rendezvous-with-2-giants.html

Ilex glabra

We've been going by the habitat restoration regularly to check on our planting.  We're now sure it is the deer that have been pulling over our cages intended to protect the trees and shrubs.  A fellow who lives across the street and helps us put the cages back up told us he sees them do it.  The deer regularly visit him, snacking on everything in sight.  There are two young'uns and a doe with a limp.

There are 6 Ilex glabra (meaning smooth, related to the leaf surface) in the planting, a native holly with several regional names, including inkberry, Appalachian tea, dye-leaves, evergreen winterberry, and gallberry (the source of gallberry nectar honey, popular in the plant's southern range).  Native to the eastern and south-central parts of the country especially along the coastal plains, it is one of the very few evergreen shrubs (broadleaf or narrowleaf) that thrive in acidic wet sites, but it will adapt to various soil pHs as well as dry soils.  It is noted for its evergreen foliage and upright, spreading, and suckering shrub growth habit when in species form, but the compact cultivars serve as an alternative to boxwood in situations where a refined but taller and faster growing broadleaf evergreen is needed and an alternative to Japanese holly when a more cold-hardy broadleaf evergreen is needed.

In addition to being an excellent shrub for naturalized and wet areas, Ilex glabra functions well for foundations, borders, group plantings, mass plantings, formal or informal hedges, backgrounds, or specimens.  It takes well to shearing, an asset for a shrub that otherwise has a tendency to legginess, and is adaptable to full sun or full shade.   The foliage has a fine texture and thick density until maturity, when it may become average to open in its density unless it has been periodically sheared.

The flowers are insignificant, well-hidden among the dense foliage.  The fruit is a drupe*, green maturing to reddish, then to inky black, whence the common name.  Unsheared, the shrub may grow to 5-10', but may be maintained at any desired height by shearing any time of year.

  Inky black berries

Dense evergreen foliage

  There may be 5-7 petals

Another desirable feature of this extremely adaptable shrub is its resistance to deer damage.  Although no plant is deer proof, plants in the Rarely Damaged, and Seldom Severely Damaged categories would be best for landscapes prone to deer damage. Plants Occasionally Severely Damaged and Frequently Severely Damaged are often preferred by deer and should only be planted with additional protection such as the use of fencing, repellents, etc. Success of any of these plants in the landscape will depend on local deer populations and weather conditions.  Ilex glabra is is the Seldom Severely Damaged category.  If your garden is plagued by deer, you can look for plants that will best meet your needs at the very useful site http://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/.  A final reason for planting Ilex glabra:  It is threatened in Maine, New York, and Connecticut and considered extirpated in the state of Pennsylvania.

*A fruit with an outer fleshy part surrounding a pit or stone with a seed inside.  Examples are peach, apricot, mango, olive, coffee, most palms, pistachio, cherry, plum, and almond.  Brambles such as blackberry and raspberry are aggregate fruits composed of clusters of drupelets. If the fleshy outer part of a drupe is actually dry or fibrous, such as the coconut, it is called a husk, and the fruit is classified differently.  In the case of mulberries, their multiple, not aggregate fruits are actually derived from bunches of catkins (flower clusters), each drupelet thus belonging to a different flower.