The Sipsey Poplar, AL   tuce-@msn.com
  Feb 21, 2007 13:05 PST 

Bob, ENTS,     
                                                         
Who has measured the Big Poplar at Sipsey Wilderness Area? In
Bankhead National Forest, Ala. Their is one supposedly 150' tall and 25'
CBH! I know one of you must have measurements or photos of it. If not
I'm on a mission! 

Larry   

Photo by Marcas Houtchings

 
Re: The Big Tree   Edward Frank
  Feb 21, 2007 14:29 PST 
Larry,

As far as I can tell the tulip has not been measured. Will and Jess visited
the Bee Branch Area, but did not measure any trees this size. In Colby
Rucker's Big Trees Past and Present document he notes this:

Tuliptree. State champion list as (1974) CBH 20' 8", ht. 151', spr. 73'.
Lawrence Co. Owner: USDA Forest Service. Comments: This is presumed to be
the same as a tuliptree said to have a 22-foot girth and 150-foot height in
the Bee Branch Scenic Area of the Sipsey Wilderness, in the William B.
Bankhead National Forest.

Ed Frank
Re: The Big Tree   Jess Riddle
  Feb 24, 2007 08:08 PST 

Larry, Ed, others;

I've heard about the Bee Branch tuliptree for years, but have never
visited the tree. When Will and I visited Bankhead NF, we did not go
that far west. The pictures I've seen of the tree show a single trunk
with the lower section shaped like a coke bottle. The 150' height
appears plausible. According to an article in Natural Areas Journal,
the surrounding forest is dominated by beech and hemlock with
tuliptree and big leaf magnolia also making up significant proportions
of the canopy. The hemlocks in that area are a disjunct population at
the extreme southwestern edge of the range, so information on their
sizes would be especially interesting. The article also mentions some
promising sites in Delta National Forest.
Devall, M.S. and P.F. Ramp. U.S. Forest Service Research Natural
Areas and Protection of Old Growth in the South.

Jess
Sipsey Yellow poplar   James Smith
  Feb 26, 2007 14:50 PST 

My pal who had told me that he wasn't going to hike to the Alabama
champion poplar in Sipsey did end up getting to it. He also saw a number
of other large poplars, but had no way of measuring or estimating size.

Here's a big poplar he saw:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/akunkle99/album/576460762391285051/photo/294928804251207429/12


And here's the champion:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/akunkle99/album/576460762391308379/photo/294928804251239159/14


and another one of the champ (has the most gnarled bark I've seen on a
poplar):

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/akunkle99/album/576460762391308379/photo/294928804251221492/18
RE: Sipsey Yellow poplar   tuce-@msn.com
  Feb 27, 2007 05:58 PST 

James, ENTS      
                                                         
Thanks for the photos. Marcus measured The Big Tree and got 26.8 cbh,
151' height and 73' spread! Awesome Tulip!   

Larry
RE: Sipsey Yellow poplar   Marcas Houtchings
  Feb 28, 2007 10:41 PST 

I hope all of you could see this wonderful tree and the view. There is
a breath taking view of a waterfall right behind the Champion. The trip
involves canoeing and hiking about a mile and it's not easy to get but
it makes it all worth while, to see the view and the scenery.
And James I commend your friend and hope he had awesome time.