Throughout Madison County, much of our forest is dominated by a tall, pale-barked tree that grows ramrod straight. Often called “yellow poplar” by loggers and sawmill owners, it’s also known as “tulip ...

It was a volunteer, a weed tree, thriving in the occasional gray-water flow from our kitchen that sates the citrus. I decided to let it grow and see what it became. It hardly branched or leafed out at ...