The eleventh song of the Plant Songs Project is called The Liriodendron Lift. This is one that pretty much wrote itself in just one sitting on Saturday. There was some editing in the following days, but not much. It’s nice when it works that way. It’s an uplifting song for me. Composing it and practicing it elevated my mood significantly. I hope it can do that for some of you also.
The title is a reference to a tree that grows around here called Liriodendron tulipifera / Tulip Tree or Tulip Poplar. It is the largest hardwood tree in our forests, growing up to 150 feet tall. In an open-field or lawn they grow this way and that, but in the forest the trunks usually grow perfectly straight and round with side branches only forming high up in the canopy. Once you learn to identify them, you can’t miss them in any season because of this characteristic. You can even spot them from the highway.
On my regular Mount Beacon hikes I feel awe-inspired and energized when I pass a large tulipifera. They are teaching me to stand up straight, and humbling me with their stature. Posture is an ongoing challenge for me. Forward head posture and rounded shoulders run in my family. Being a pianist and a modern human (smart telephones and computers) has contributed also. Actually seeing myself in these videos is motivating me to work on it too. I would have loved to see a more upright posture in this video, especially because of the title and its meaning here. But it’s actually not something I should be thinking about when recording. I have exercises and awareness practices that I’m working with. The hope is that someday I’ll have corrected the issue with this work and will naturally sit with good alignment at the piano without thinking of it. Right now I need to be kind to myself and call it a work in progress.
The common name, Tulip Tree, references the flowers which look a lot like the tulip flowers you know. Unfortunately it’s rare to see the flowers up close because they’re usually 50 or more feet up in the air and hidden by the leaf canopy. Every once in awhile I’ll find a fallen flower, but that’s rare. Right now, in mid-November, the leaves have dropped and you can barely make out the dried remains of this seasons flowers way up there in the canopy. Liriodendrons are on the rise. The lack of fire (natural and human-made) among other things has allowed them a leg up over Oaks. Unfortunately, according to Doug Tallamy, as awesome as they are, Liriodendron tulipifera trees are not as ecologically valuable as Quercus / Oaks. According to Tallamy’s research, Quercus are know host over 550 specialist pollinators, while Liriodendrons only host 21. They’re still a great tree and important, but we need a focus on plants that host the most specialist pollinators to address the massive insect decline that’s taken place in recent years. I highly recommend you check out Doug Tallamy’s work. Start with this video and read his books!
The Liriodendron Lift gives me a little lift. I hope it does that for some of you too!
My favorite known Liriodendron tulipifera on Mount Beacon. Photographed July 22, 2024
That same Liriodendron tulipifera tree photographed November 11, 2024
A fallen leaf of a Liriodendron tulipifera. Photographed November 12, 2024