Trees of Alabama and the Southeast Home Page

 Leaves are simple, alternate and deciduous with 4-6 lobes and a square, notched apex.  Young twigs are red-brown and shiny with stipular scars surrounding the twig.  Buds are green to purple, smooth and shaped like a duck's bill.  Bark is light gray with deep irregular grooves, as if cut with a pizza cutter, with black branch scars.  Flowers are yellow with orange splotches and tulip-like. Fruit is a cone-like cluster of samaras.  Yellow-poplar is found on rich, moist sites in the eastern U.S. and is intolerant of shade.  The white-green-brown wood is light and used for pulpwood, furniture, framing and pallets.  This tree is a nice ornamental for large spaces.  The seeds are eaten by birds and small mammals.

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All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for commercial use in any form.  All photographs are copyrighted by the named photographer(s), text copyright by Lisa Samuelson. © 2005, all rights reserved. Photographs by Mike Hogan.