Most commonly, tulipwood is the greenish yellowish wood yielded from the

tulip tree ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

, found on the Eastern side of North America and a similar species in some parts of China. In the United States, it is commonly known as

tulip poplar ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus '' Liriodendron'' (the othe ...

or yellow poplar, even though the tree is not related to the

poplars ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

. It is notable for its height, which can exceed 190 feet. The wood is very light, around 490 kg per cubic meter, but very strong and is used in many applications, including

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

joinery Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

and moldings. It can also be stained very easily and is often used as a low-cost alternative to walnut and cherry in furniture and doors.

Other types

Brazilian

Brazilian tulipwood is a different species. A classic high-quality wood, it is very dense with a lovely figure. It is used for inlays in furniture and for small turned items. Available only in small sizes, it is rarely used in the solid for luxury furniture. Like other woods with a pronounced figure it is rather strongly subject to fashion. In the nineteenth century Brazilian tulipwood was thought to be the product of the brazilian

rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

'' Physocalymma scaberrimum'' (West Indian tulipwood), but in the twentieth century it became clear it was yielded by a species of ''

Dalbergia ''Dalbergia'' is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade (or tribe): the Dalbergieae. T ...

''. At some point it was misidentified as '' Dalbergia frutescens'', a misidentification which can still be found in books aimed at the woodworker. For some decades it has been known to be yielded by ''

Dalbergia decipularis ''Dalbergia'' is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade (or tribe): the Dalbergieae. T ...

'', a species restricted to a small area in Western-

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. But both ''Dalbergia fructescens'' and ''Dalbergia decipularis'' are named (Brazilian tulipwood). Also ''

Dalbergia cearensis ''Dalbergia cearensis'', with common names Brazilian kingwood, kingwood, Bois de Violette, and violetwood, is a small tree endemic to Brazil. It is native to the states of Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, and Piauí Piaui (, ) is one of ...

'' kingwood or violetwood, is named tulipwood and ''

Dalbergia oliveri ''Dalbergia oliveri'' is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae which grows in tree form to 15 – 30 meters in height (up to 100 ft.). The fruit is a green pod containing one to two seeds which turn brown to black when ripe. It is thre ...

'' the burmese rosewood is sometimes called "burma tulipwood".

American Tulipwood

The cheap, soft and pale wood from the tuliptree ''

Liriodendron tulipifera ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ''Liriodendron'' (the other ...

'' is known as American tulipwood or poplar and American whitewood, canary whitewood and canary wood, it is widely used.

Australian

There also exists the "australian tulipwood", "tulipwood trees" the common name of ''

Harpullia ''Harpullia'' is a genus of about 27 species of small to medium-sized rainforest trees from the family Sapindaceae. They have a wide distribution ranging from India eastwards through Malesia, Papuasia and Australasia to the Pacific Islands. Th ...

'', ''

Harpullia pendula ''Harpullia pendula'', known as the tulipwood or tulip lancewood is a small to medium-sized rainforest tree from Australia. The tree's small size, pleasant form and attractive fruit ensures the popularity of this ornamental tree. The range of na ...

'' (Black or Queensland, Moreton Bay tulipwood) and ''

Harpullia arborea ''Harpullia arborea'' is a tree in the family Sapindaceae that grows up to tall. It is found from India and Sri Lanka throughout Southeast Asia and Malesia to Australia and the Western Pacific. References External links''Harpullia arborea'' ...

'' (Cooktown tulipwood) or ''

Harpullia hillii ''Harpullia hillii'', commonly known as blunt-leaved tulip or oblong-leaved tulip, is a tree in the family Sapindaceae, endemic to eastern Australia. Although the species may grow to 20 metres high, most trees are less than 10 metres high. Each l ...

'' (Blunt leaf tulipwood) and ''

Harpullia alata ''Harpullia alata'', common name -winged tulip or wing-leaved tulip, is a tree in the family Sapindaceae, endemic to eastern Australia, and found from Brisbane, Queensland to Grafton, New South Wales. Description ''Harpullia alata'' is a tree wh ...

'' (Wing-leaved tulipwood) etc. Certain varieties of ''Harpullia'' were prized for their dark coloured timber. The one most commonly known to horticulture is ''Harpullia pendula'' which is widely planted as a street tree along the east coast of Australia. Also ''

Drypetes acuminata ''Drypetes'' is a plant genus of the family Putranjivaceae, in the order Malpighiales. It was previously in the family Euphorbiaceae, tribe Drypeteae, and was the sole pantropical zoochorous genus of the family. The genus comprises about 200 ...

'' and ''

Drypetes deplanchei ''Drypetes deplanchei'' is a tree of eastern and northern Australia. It also occurs in New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island. The genus is derived from the Greek, ''dryppa'' meaning "olive fruit". The species named after Dr. Emile Deplanche, who c ...

'' (Yellow tulipwood) and New England tulipwood ''

Guilfoylia monostylis ''Guilfoylia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Surianaceae. The only species is ''Guilfoylia monostylis''. Its native range is eastern Australia, and found in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. The gen ...

'' are from Australia.

Others

Also exists the tuliptrees, ''

Thespesia populnea ''Thespesia populnea'', commonly known as the portia tree (), Pacific rosewood, Indian tulip tree, or milo, among other names, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a tree found commonly on coasts ar ...

'' and '' Thespesia acutiloba'', ''

Spathodea campanulata ''Spathodea'' is a genus in the plant family Bignoniaceae. The single species it contains, ''Spathodea campanulata'', is commonly known as the African tulip tree. The tree grows between tall and is native to tropical dry forests of Africa. It ha ...

'', ''

Stenocarpus sinuatus ''Stenocarpus sinuatus'', known as the firewheel tree, is an Australian rainforest tree in the family Proteaceae. The range of natural distribution is in various rainforest types from the Nambucca River (30° S) in New South Wales to the Ath ...

'', and ''

Licaria guianensis ''Licaria'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Lauraceae, native to Central America and South America. It is a Neotropical genus with around 80 species. Overview ''Licaria'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of about 80 species distributed ...

'', '' Dicypellium caryophyllatum'' and ''

Hibiscus elatus ''Talipariti elatum'', the blue mahoe, is a species of Flowering plant, flowering tree in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. Distribution ''Talipariti elatum'' is native to the islands of Cuba, Jamaica the US. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. ...

'', these trees resp. their wood is also occasionally named tulipwood.Wiersema J.H., León B.: ''World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference.'' Second Edition, CRC Press, 2016, , p. 232, 338, 1206.''The Agriculture News.'' Vol. XI, No. 274, 1911
online
on biodiversitylibrary.org.

References

{{reflist Wood Plant common names