Late season flowering in yellow-poplar

Two individual trees of yellowpoplar Liriodendron tulipifera L.) growing in Washington Parish, La., near the southern extremity of the species range, were found to be flowering during the last part of November 1972 (fig. 1). The Woody-Plant Seed Manual 2 states that the flowers open from April to June and that the fruit ripens from September to November. This no doubt is the usual behavior for this species. We discovered the flowering trees when collecting seed from "Plus" yellow-poplar trees in Louisiana and Mississippi. We collected seed from 25 individual trees growing in seven different area within the two States, (table 1). Two of the five areas in Louisiana had flowering trees. Both areas were in Washington Parish. Within the two Washington Parish areas, one out of the three trees per area had flowers. These flowering trees had numerous mature and immature fruits. Cutting tests of the mature seed of the flowering trees indicated that their soundness (10 percent) differed little from the average soundness of the other 23 trees (12 percent). Whether this phenomenon has a genetic basis remains to be seen. The offspring of the two trees as well as rooted cuttings will be observed further to see if they behave the same.

Download this file:

Download this file

Details

Author(s): Ronald A. Woessner, Sherwood Adams

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 24, Number 4 (1973)

Volume: 24

Number: 4