Botanical atlas

Tulip Tree

Liriodendron tulipifera

Long before it was prized for its towering timber, the tulip tree's bark was steeped and simmered by Cherokee, Delaware, and other Eastern Woodland peoples as a bitter, warming tonic for fevers, indigestion, and the aches of rheumatism. When colonial settlers arrived, they adopted the same bark as a homegrown substitute for costly imported Peruvian bark, brewing it into decoctions for seasonal fevers and low spirits. By the nineteenth century, Eclectic physicians had made tulip tree bark a fixture of their apothecary shelves, praising it as a gentle stimulant tonic that seemed to rouse a sluggish appetite and steady a weary constitution. Though it has since faded from common use, its story remains woven into the roots of early American herbal medicine.

Safety.

Tulip tree bark has a traditional history as a bitter tonic, but excessive use has been linked to nausea and a mild stimulant effect on the heart, so anyone with a cardiac condition should be cautious. The bark and wilted leaves are toxic to horses and other livestock, and it is best avoided during pregnancy.