A look at tulip trees

What’s a tulip tree? There are two plant species grown in Marin that are called tulip trees.

Magnolia soulangeana, a deciduous tree with saucer-shaped white to pink flowers, is a good choice for a showy specimen tree. (Note that this species is different than Magnolia grandiflora. The tulip tree grows to 25 feet tall. The southern magnolia grows to 80 feet tall and is probably not suitable for most Marin gardens.)

Liriodendron tulipifera, also called tulip tree, has an unusual leaf shape. “Sunset Western Garden Book” describes them as “blunt-tipped maple leaves missing the end lobe.” The yellow flowers are tulip-shaped. It’s a large tree — 60 to 80 feet — which is also deciduous. Nurseries may carry cultivars that grow only to 15 feet. Leaves turn from yellow-green to bright yellow in the fall.

— katie martin, UC Marin Master Gardeners