COMMON NAMES:   Yellow poplar, tulip poplar, whitewood, popple, canary whitewood

SPECIFIC GRAVITY:   .51

DENSITY:  31 lbs./cu.ft.

TANGENTIAL MOVEMENT:   8.2%

RADIAL MOVEMENT:   4.6%

VOLUMETRIC SHRINKAGE:   12.7%

DURABILITY1:   Poor

SOURCE:  Eastern U.S., Appalachians and Southern states

DESCRIPTION:   Yellow poplar, or poplar as it is generically called, is not related to the true poplars, but rather is in the magnolia family. It is one of the most commonly used timbers in the US. Fairly light in weight, fine textured, fairly soft and usually straight-grained, poplar has reasonable dimensional stability. The heartwood has a greenish cast, sometimes with dark brown steaks; sapwood usually off-white. It works very well with hand and machine tools and is used for paint-grade interior work and as a secondary wood for furniture.

1 Durability refers to a wood's resistance to rotting in wet environments.