The Tuliptree is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Tuliptree is one of the largest of the native trees of the eastern United States It is known to reach the height of 60 m (190 ft), with a trunk 3 m (10 ft) in diameter; its ordinary height is 20 to 30 m (70 to 100 ft). It prefers deep, rich, and rather moist soil. The bark is brown, and furrowed. The branchlets are smooth, and lustrous, initially reddish, maturing to dark gray, and finally brown, aromatic and bitter. The leaf is unique in shape, its apex is cut off at the end in a way peculiarly its own, the petioles are long, angled, and so poised that the leaves flutter independently, and their glossy surfaces so catch and toss the light that the effect of the foliage as a whole is much brighter than it otherwise would be.
