One of the largest tree in North America, the tulip poplar can reach heights of 150 feet. A member of the magnolia family, the tulip poplar is named for its distinct tulip-shaped leaves and flowers. These showy, goblet-shaped, green, orange and yellow flowers appear in late spring.
Tulip poplars can be found across the Show-Me State, one such tree in West Plains provides a little-known connection to a founding father.
Standing tall in the middle of the Georgia White Walking Park is an offspring of a tulip poplar the George Washington planted in 1775 at Mt. Vernon, Va.
The Missouri Department of Conservation, with assistance from the West Plains Rotary Club, planted the offspring tree on April 3, 1991.
ABOUT GEORGIA WHITE WALKING PARK
The Georgia White Walking Park offers nearly 2.5 miles of blacktopped trails located in West Plains on the corner of Minnesota Avenue and Thornburgh Street.
The park is named in honor of Georgia White, who donated a portion of the land behind her home in 1989 to develop a walking park. White passed away from cancer in 1990 before the park could be completed. She operating a boarding home out of her house in 1968 and continued to run it for many years taking care of the town’s elderly population.
