Tulip tree

Liriodendron tulipifera

This large tulip stands sentry on the corner of Rogers High School on the corner of Wickham, Ruggles, and Hazard. Its large frame is still considered a medium-sized tree for this particular species.  I don’t foresee this tree getting much taller. The top of its crown is thinning due to the salty winds from earlier this spring coming off the ocean desiccating and drying the newly emerged tips. This is by no means a lethal threat to the tree but will lead to the tree becoming broader and spreading over time. Hopefully when Rogers is renovated special care is taken to preserve this tree.

Tulips are our largest deciduous native tree; its only competition in height is from old-growth conifers. Specimens over 100 feet tall are currently on record living in RI. Although this tree is also called tulip poplar or yellow poplar, it is not even closely related to tulips nor poplars.  Being in the magnolia family it’s more closely related to the showy magnolias of spring.  You can easily see the relation by examining the flowers compared to those of magnolias.  This attribute makes tulip tree a great pollinizer species as its flowers produce lots of sweet nectar, as you can see dripping in one of the photos.  Unfortunately, this tree is considered more of a shade tree than a flowering tree in the trade as the attractive yellow, orange, and green tepaled flowers normally go unnoticed as they are usually held high up in the scaffold of the canopy in mid-June while the tree is in full leaf.