Tulip Tree

Liriodendron tulipifera

Also known as Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar, Whitewood, Fiddletree

At a glance

Family

Magnoliaceae

Type

Deciduous flowering hardwood tree

Parts used

Bark, especially the inner and root bark

Size

70 to 150 feet tall, among the tallest native hardwoods in eastern North America

Bloom

Late spring to early summer, tulip-shaped yellow-green flowers marked with a band of orange

Habitat

Rich, moist deciduous forests, river valleys, and hillsides of eastern North America

Acquisition

Grow or buy

This plant in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditional bitter tonic

Historic fever remedy

Eased rheumatic discomfort

Supported sluggish digestion

Traditional uses

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Long before it was prized for its towering timber, the tulip tree's bark was steeped and simmered by Cherokee, Delaware, and other Eastern Woodland peoples as a bitter, warming tonic for fevers, indigestion, and the aches of rheumatism. When colonial settlers arrived, they adopted the same bark as a homegrown substitute for costly imported Peruvian bark, brewing it into decoctions for seasonal fevers and low spirits. By the nineteenth century, Eclectic physicians had made tulip tree bark a fixture of their apothecary shelves, praising it as a gentle stimulant tonic that seemed to rouse a sluggish appetite and steady a weary constitution. Though it has since faded from common use, its story remains woven into the roots of early American herbal medicine.

How to grow & use it

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Traditional remedies and step-by-step preparations, a complete growing guide, and how to harvest, dry, and store it, all unlocked with HerbLens Unlimited.

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✦ Growing guide
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Pairs well with

✦Ginger
✦Boneset
✦Chamomile

Substitutes

✦Cinchona (quinine) bark
✦Wild cherry bark

Choose it when

“Reach for tulip tree bark when a cold settles in and you want the old bitter-bark warmth once trusted long before quinine was easy to come by.”

Did you know?

Despite its common name, the tulip tree isn't related to poplars at all, it's actually a cousin of the magnolia, and its leaf shape and tulip-like blossoms belong to one of the most ancient lineages of flowering trees, with fossil relatives dating back more than 100 million years.

Safety

Tulip tree bark has a traditional history as a bitter tonic, but excessive use has been linked to nausea and a mild stimulant effect on the heart, so anyone with a cardiac condition should be cautious. The bark and wilted leaves are toxic to horses and other livestock, and it is best avoided during pregnancy.