Leaf guide › Other hardwoods
Tulip tree
Liriodendron tulipifera
Clear butter-yellow leaves with a flat top, from one of the tallest trees in the East.
- Fall color
- Yellow
- Turns
- Mid-season
- Leaves
- Alternate (one per spot)
- Size
- 5–8 in. long
- Found in
- Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest
How to recognize it
- Four lobes with a flat or notched top, like a tulip in profile or a cat’s face.
- Smooth edges with no teeth.
- Long leaf stems let the leaves flutter.
- Tall, straight trunk with grooved gray bark.
Where to find it
Look for it in rich, moist woods, coves, and valleys, especially in the Appalachians, where it grows straight and tall with a long, clear trunk.
Where you’ll see it this fall
Tulip tree is one of the main trees in the fall color at these destinations. Dates are the typical peak.
Alabama: Birmingham (Nov 5)
Georgia: Helen (Oct 30), Atlanta (Nov 2)
Indiana: Indianapolis (Oct 27), Nashville (Oct 28)
Kentucky: Lexington (Oct 28), Louisville (Oct 30)
Maryland: Baltimore (Oct 31)
New York: Bear Mountain (Oct 23), New York City (Oct 31)
North Carolina: Highlands (Oct 18), Blowing Rock (Oct 19), Boone (Oct 20), Asheville (Oct 26), Charlotte (Nov 2), Raleigh (Nov 3)
Ohio: Columbus (Oct 27), Hocking Hills (Oct 27), Cincinnati (Oct 29)
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh (Oct 24), Ohiopyle (Oct 25), Philadelphia (Oct 31)
South Carolina: Greenville (Nov 1)
Tennessee: Cades Cove (Oct 28), Gatlinburg (Oct 30), Pigeon Forge (Oct 31), Knoxville (Oct 31), Nashville (Nov 2), Chattanooga (Nov 2), Memphis (Nov 4)
Virginia: Skyland (Oct 15), Blacksburg (Oct 24), Roanoke (Oct 29), Charlottesville (Oct 30), Richmond (Nov 2)
Washington, D.C.: Washington (Oct 31)
West Virginia: Fayetteville (Oct 24)
Easy to confuse with
Worth knowing
Also called yellow poplar, it isn’t a poplar at all but a member of the magnolia family. In the southern Appalachians it can top 150 feet. It’s the state tree of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.
Common questions
What color does tulip tree turn in fall?
Tulip tree turns a clear butter-yellow, one of the cleanest yellows in the forest.
When does tulip tree change color?
Around the middle of the local season, close to overall peak.
How can you tell tulip tree from maples?
Maples: Maples have pointed tips on every lobe and grow leaves in pairs. The tulip tree’s squared-off top is unique. Tulip tree: Four lobes with a flat or notched top, like a tulip in profile or a cat’s face.
Where does tulip tree grow?
In the lower 48, look for it in the Appalachians, the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast, and the Midwest.
See where the color is peaking today.
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