Liriodendron tulipifera

The tulip poplars are in bloom right now, so last night I stopped by this very large specimen to take a picture before the flowers fade. They are actually not poplar trees, but are members of the magnolia family.

Tulip trees are the tallest trees in the Eastern hardwood forest. They have very straight, columnar trunks and the branches are often high above the ground. But this one had some low enough that I could zoom in for a photograph.

Tulip trees are very majestic and their flowers are quite pretty.

So I was very disappointed but not surprised to see that all the leaves exhibit the discoloration of foliage damaged by exposure to toxic greenhouse gases and unable to produce chlorophyll.

Compare it to a picture of leaves I found on the web from 2006: