I don’t yet have the answer for why, in the woods, a number of tulip poplar trees have multiple trunks from the same base.
But the really unusual feature is how the base of the tree appears hollowed out.
My current theory is that the tulip poplar grew up alongside the stump of a tree and then it sent out adventitious roots around the stump to mine the ingredients in the stump and when this was done and the stump had disappeared, it was left with a hollow base.
Here is another example of a hollowed out base.
But this may not be the reason at all – tulip poplars may have a predeliction for spreading their base out. Here is an unusual example.
This tulip poplar leans over to the left and then grow upright. Usually this occurs when a tree is knocked sideways but there is no indication this tree was knocked sideways. Its trunk appears well planted upright in the ground. But then you notice that skeletal offshoot on the left – is that a trunk or a branch?