Fruit appears in October. The yellow-poplar received its name from the yellow color of its heartwood. Whatever you wish to call it, tuliptree is one of the largest and more valuable hardwood trees of the United States. It occurs commonly throughout the state except in the central and northwestern sections. The tuliptree reaches its largest size in the deep, moist soils and coves of southeastern Ohio.
Young trees have a pyramidal head which in older age becomes more spreading.
The tree has been extensively cut but is reproducing rapidly and remains one of the most abundant and valuable trees in our young, second-growth forests. It is planted for ornamental purposes as well as for shade. Leaves are distinctive and make this tree easy to identify. The three-lobed leaves are dark green in the summer and turn a clear yellow in the fall. Twigs are reddish-brown and glabrous.