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Tree Identification please? (Tulip tree?)

Tree Identification please? (Tulip tree?)

I recently moved to SW Indiana from CA. On the side of our house we have a tree growing that I have no idea what its called.

Its about 30 feet high, the bark is sort brownish white (thin. not heavy bark) In the spring its covered with beautiful purple flowers like tulips. (Folks around hear call it a tulip tree) It buds a little in late summer also. in fact has some buds now,

The leaves are dark green, about 5 inches long with no webbing perhaps a little wider at end, sorta like a wide boat. You can see the divisions for the branches in the trunk which is about 24 inches diameter.

Anybody know what it is?

Is this a good tree for turning? There is no way my wife will let me touch our tree, but I have seen others like it in local forest, also. ours may need to be pruned.? But. what is it and what does the wood look like and turn like.?

Thanks.

PS... If any of you know of any other woods common to SW Indiana that are nice that I should be on the look out for. Please let tell me about it.

I lived in the SF Bay area for the past 30 years. and have purchased all of my turning stock. I can identify many of the woods in its milled form but have NEVER harvested any my own wood, (accept some mystery I have been turning out of my fire woodpile lately)

Now $ (lack of) and remoteness. (long way to the hardwood stores moved to the boonies) is causing me to look longingly at all the hardwood forest around me. (I live half mile form the state forest)

Big Mike

Reply to
mikes News
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What you are looking at is probably another member of the Magnolia family, the Southern Magnolia, brought north and planted as an ornamental. It has the flowers, bark and leaves you describe and is common on Indiana farmsteads.

It's not a Yellow Poplar, an idigenous tree, also called Tulip Tree, Flowering Tulip, Tulip-poplar, and Tuliptree. They have 'tulip' shaped leaves, very distinct and certainly not boat shaped. Also, the flowers are orange-ish. The Tulip Tree is the Indiana State tree and is where we get poplar wood from. During pioneering of the eastern half of the US, the poplar was the chosen wood for barn beams (oak being the wood of choice for columns), 12" x 12" x 60' beams are not uncommon.

Dan

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

Being from the South, I was a bit puzzled by the notion of a Southern Magnolia with a tulip-shaped white flower, as the flower of the Magnolias in the South is white and not much like that of a tulip. Did a search and found that the Japanese Magnolia fits the description though, and is sometimes called a "Tulip Tree".

If you DAGS on "Japanese magnolia wood" you'll find a lot of hits, including the FPL datasheet, which indicates that it's easy to work, some photos of various items made from Japanese Magnolia, and some discussion of its traditional uses, one of which is in the scabbards for Japanese swords.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I lived in Indiana for some of my childhood, the first one. If you can post some pix of the leaves and flowers to ABPW you might get a better answer. AS for good wood in your area, BUCKEYE. Along with anything else that grows. There are lots of hardwoods, including beech in your area, grab a tree ID book and look around you. Free wood is good wood.

Dave in Fairfax

Reply to
dave in Fairfax

I did a web search for "Southern Magnolia"

The search results showed pictures of trees exactly like ours... You hit the nail on the head

Thanks Mike

Reply to
mikes News

Kinda figured. I've heard them called tulip trees and they are a common ornamental here. Dan

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

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