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Tulip poplar, the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee

The tulip poplar, also called the tulip tree or yellow poplar, is the state tree of three neighboring states: Indiana, which chose it in 1931, Tennessee in 1947 and Kentucky in 1994. It is one of the tallest hardwoods in the East, named for its tulip-shaped leaves and its tulip-like flowers. Tennessee chose it because pioneers relied on its wood for houses and barns.

Checked against each state's law · verified October 23, 2026

Tulip poplar
Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The 3 states

StateDesignationName in state lawAdopted
IndianaState treeTulip tree (yellow poplar)IC 1-2-7-1 (Acts 1931, c.48)1931
TennesseeState treeTulip poplarPublic Chapter 204 (75th General Assembly, 1947); Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-1-3051947
KentuckyState treeTulip poplarKRS 2.0951994

Three neighbors

Indiana made the tulip tree its state tree in 1931, and the tree’s leaf also appears in the border of the Indiana state seal. Tennessee followed in 1947, choosing it because it grows statewide and pioneers relied on its wood for houses, barns and other farm buildings. Kentucky took a detour: when it created a state tree in 1976 it chose the Kentucky coffeetree, partly to set itself apart from neighbors that used the tulip poplar, but in 1994 the law was changed to name the tulip poplar after all.

How to recognize it

The tulip poplar is one of the tallest eastern hardwoods, usually 100 to 150 feet tall at maturity, with a long, straight trunk, and old trees on the best sites approach 200 feet. Its leaves, 4 to 8 inches long, have four lobes and a flat or notched tip that gives them the outline of a tulip. Its tulip-shaped flowers, greenish yellow banded with orange, open high in the tree in late spring, and its fruit is an upright, cone-like cluster of winged seeds.

Questions people ask

Which states have the tulip poplar as state tree?
Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Is the tulip poplar really a poplar?
Despite its names, tulip poplar and yellow poplar, it is not related to the true poplars. Its scientific name is Liriodendron tulipifera.
Why did Kentucky change its state tree?
From 1976 Kentucky's state tree was the Kentucky coffeetree, chosen in part to set Kentucky apart from neighbors that used the tulip poplar. In 1994 the law was amended to name the tulip poplar.

Sources