VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Liriodendron tulipifera | Yellow-Poplar 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Yellow-poplar wood is used for construction grade lumber and plywood
[1].  It has straight grain, little shrinkage, and excellent gluing
qualitites [2].  In the past is was used for carriage bodies, shingles,
saddle frames, and interior finish wood.  It is currently used for
cabinets, veneer, furniture, and pulp [2].  Yellow-poplar has only fair
value as a fuelwood but good value as kindling [4].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Livestock prefer the foliage and stems of yellow-poplar over those of
other tree species.  Young trees are often heavily browsed, and
seedlings are frequently eliminated by browsing or trampling [1].
Cattle or other browsers create "browse lines" on older trees [2].

White-tailed deer browse yellow-poplar during all seasons [23].
Northern bobwhites, purple finches, cottontails, red squirrels, gray
squirrels, and white-footed mice consume the samaras [2].
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers use the phloem, and ruby-throated hummingbirds
consume nectar from the flowers [21].


PALATABILITY : 
Yellow-poplar has been rated fair in palatability for livestock,
white-tailed deer, small mammals, upland game birds, and songbirds [4].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
Yellow-poplars in various stages of growth provide hiding and thermal
cover for white-tailed deer, small mammals, upland game birds,
waterfowl, and nongame birds [21].  They provide habitat for the
endangered red-cockaded woodpecker [15].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Yellow-poplar has been planted onto surface coal mine reclamation sites
with variable results, but total failures are rare [7,29].  One-year-old
seedlings planted on sites in Kentucky and Illinois showed good survival
rates (24 percent) for 30 years after planting.  Yellow-poplar should be
planted in mixtures with other hardwoods.  Yellow-poplar growth under
decadent black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) in Indiana was good.  In
eastern Kentucky height growth nearly doubled when yellow-poplar was
interplanted with European alder (Alnus glutinosa) [29].  One-year-old
seedlings are recommended for planting [29].

The lower pH limit for yellow-poplar on acid mine spoils is 4.5 [29].
Liming the spoils before planting has improved yellow-poplar
establisment on acid spoils in Pennsylvania [14].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Yellow-poplar has been valued as an ornamental since 1663.  The
tuliplike flowers and leaves are aesthetically pleasing [2].  The
flowers are also valuable nectar producers.  The flowers from a
20-year-old tree produce enough nectar to yield 4 pounds (1.8 kg) of
honey [1].

Yellow-poplar was used medicinally in the late 1800's:  a heart
stimulant was extracted from the inner bark of the root [13], and a
tonic for treating rheumatism and dyspepsia was extracted from stem bark
[28].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Insects:  Compared with other commercial species, yellow-poplar is
relatively free of pests.  Only four insect species have important
impact on harvest.  Tuliptree scale (Toumeyella liriodendri) and
yellow-poplar weevil (Odontopus calceatus) feed on the buds and stems.
Root collar borer (Euzophera ostricolorella) and Columbian timber beetle
(Corthtlus columbianus) bore into the bole and root crown, providing
pathways for other pathogens to enter the tree.  The Columbian timber
beetle also lowers lumber grade by creating a large black streak above
and below beetle burrow entries [1,2,24].

Silviculture:  Clearcutting is the recommended harvest method for
yellow-poplar.  Its seeds survive for 4 to 8 years on the forest floor,
making seed tree cuts unnecessary [6].  When yellow-poplar is harvested
in warm seasons, the wood is susceptible to a wood-staining fungi
(Ceratocystis spp.) which lowers the lumber grade.  Rapid processing of
the logs in warm seasons reduces monetary losses from staining [2].

Season of harvest can have an impact on establishment and growth of
yellow-poplar seedlings.  In stands logged in late spring or summer,
seeds may not germinate until the following year; these seedlings may
not be able to compete with vegetation started the previous year.
However, where a good seed source was previously present, summer
cuttings usually produce an adequate number of seedlings.  If the seed
supply in the litter is scarce, fall, winter, or early spring harvesting
may aid in seedling establishment [2].

Yellow-poplar is shade intolerant and responds well to overstory
thinning.  Yellow-poplar was four times taller and five times larger in
dbh in an 18-year-old stand where all the overstory vegetation had been
removed than in the control [2].  Lamson [18] has provided information
on thinning.  Yellow-poplar responds well to fertilization.  It grew
twice as tall on sites fertilized with diammonium phosphate at a rate of
500 pounds per acre (562 kg/ha) than on control sites [10].

Pollution:  Yellow-poplar is very sensitive to high ozone concentrations [8].

Related categories for Species: Liriodendron tulipifera | Yellow-Poplar