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Q: Last autumn I took a trip to Tower Rock since the Mississippi River level was so low. Along the bank I ran across this tree. The leaves are extremely large, bigger than my outstretched hand. Can you tell me the species?

This is a tulip tree, also known as a yellow poplar or tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). These trees are in the Magnolia family. When mature, they are large and stately, growing to 100 feet with long trunks and pyramid-shaped crowns. Tulip trees have been valuable ornamental trees — gracing lawns, parks, and cemeteries — since 1663 when they were first cultivated. The commercial uses for tulip trees include furniture, interior trim work, boxes, caskets, musical instruments, woodenware, and veneer.

A tulip tree’s flowers, which bloom in May and June, are greenish-yellow, orange-banded at the base, tulip-shaped, and 3 to 4 inches across. These trees prefer the moist woods of ravines. They can be found along the streams of Crowley’s Ridge and at the base of wooded bluffs along the Mississippi River in southeastern Missouri.

Q: What type of mushroom is this?

These are stump puffballs (Apioperdon pyriforme). According to the National Audubon Society’s Mushrooms of North America, their interiors are white and firm but eventually become olive-yellow or olive-brown, dissolving into a powdery mass of spores with age. Growing in clusters, these mushrooms are in season from July through November. They grow on stumps, logs, and woody debris. They are usually studded with a fine pattern of tiny spines with a pore at the top. 

Stump puffball mushrooms are edible only when they are young and still pure white in color. To be safe, always be certain of your mushroom identification before consuming. For more information, consult A Guide to Missouri’s Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms at short.mdc.mo.gov/ZNf.

Q: Is this a red-tailed hawk? Could it be leucistic?

This is a red-tailed hawk. The spots running across and between the belly and breast are reminiscent of the “bellyband” — an important field marker for red-tailed hawks. Also, the general size and head-to-body proportions are in line with a red-tailed hawk. 

At first glance, this hawk could be considered either leucistic or a Krider’s hawk. But upon closer examination of the photo, we know it’s leucistic because of its blue eyes. Red-tailed hawks typically have yellowish to dark-brown eyes.

Birds can be completely leucistic, where all feathers lack melanin and the bird appears completely white. Partially leucistic birds can have one or more feathers that are white anywhere on their bodies, and the white is generally grouped on a feather tract, like the tail or head. Leucism can be genetic, a sign of nutrient deficiency, or a sign of aging.  Typically, leucistic animals are partly white, with brown, tan, and gray coloring.