Indiana State Tree

Tulip / Yellow Poplar

(Magnoliaceae Liriodendron tulipifera)

Adopted in 1931.

The tulip tree (liriodendron tulipifera) was adopted as the official State tree of Indiana by an act of the State legislature approved on March 3, 1931 It attains great height and can be found throughout the state. The leaf is distinctive (it appears in the border of the state seal), and the lovely bell-shaped greenish-yellow flowers appear in May or June. The soft white wood has many uses.

Description of the Indiana State Tree

Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is one of the most attractive and tallest of eastern hardwoods. It is fast growing and may reach 300 years of age on deep, rich, well-drained soils of forest coves and lower mountain slopes. The wood has high commercial value because of its versatility and as a substitute for increasingly scarce softwoods in furniture and framing construction. Yellow-poplar is also valued as a honey tree, a source of wildlife food, and a shade tree for large areas.

Common Names

Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), also called tuliptree, tulip-poplar, white-poplar, and whitewood

Identification

• Leaf: Alternate, simple, palmately veined, orbicular, 4-lobed with an entire margin, 4 to 8 inches long. Somewhat shaped like a tulip.
  Flower: Showy, but high in the tree, 2 1/2 inches long, with yellow-green petals and an orange corolla. Present April to June.
• Fruit: An oblong aggregate of samaras, deciduous at maturity. Each samara is 1-winged, 1 1/2 inches long, and 4-angled. Maturing August to October.
• Twig: Red-brown in color, often with a shiny appearance or a waxy bloom. Stipules are large and encircle the twig. Buds are elongated and valvate, resembling a "duck bill". Twigs have a sweet, spicy odor when broken.
• Bark: Light gray-green in color, often with white in grooves or in patches. Smooth when young, developing flat-topped ridges and furrows in diamond shaped patterns. On older trees sapsucker holes are common.
• Form: In a stand, this tree is very straight with a limb-free bowl. Open-grown trees have a pyramidal crown when young, becoming oval in shape.

Statute

Indiana Code, Title 1, Article 2, Chapter 7, Section 1-2-7-1.

TITLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
ARTICLE 2. STATE EMBLEMS.
CHAPTER 7. STATE FLOWER AND TREE.
SECTION IC 1-2-7-1.

IC 1-2-7-1
Tulip tree; peony
Sec. 1. The tulip tree (liriodendron tulipifera) is hereby adopted and designated as the official state tree, and the flower of the peony (Paeonie) is hereby adopted and designated as the official state flower of the state of Indiana.
(Formerly: Acts 1931, c.48, s.1; Acts 1957, c.283, s.1.)

Taxonomic Hierarchy of the Tulip / Yellow Poplar

Source:
Dendrology at Virginia Tech
US Department of Agriculture