Today the tulip tree is one of the largest and most valuable hardwoods of eastern North America. It is native from Connecticut and southern New York, westward to southern Ontario and northern Ohio, and south to Louisiana and northern Florida. It is found sparingly in New England, it is abundant on the southern shore of Lake Erie and westward to Illinois. It extends south to north Florida, and is rare west of the Mississippi River, but is found occasionally for ornamentals. Its finest development is in the Southern Appalachian mountains, where trees may exceed in height. It was introduced into Great Britain before 1688 in Bishop Compton's garden at Fulham Palace and is now a popular ornamental in streets, parks, and large gardens. The Appalachian Mountains and adjacent Piedmont running south from Pennsylvania to Georgia contained 75 percent of all yellow-poplar growing stock in 1974.