The tulips of the tulip tree

The tulip trees are beginning to bloom. With their huge flowers that look like tulips, you would think they would be quite spectacular. However, most people do not even notice that they are blooming. Most of the flowers are high in the trees, and the flowers are pale green and yellow, so they do not contrast well with the leaves.
Here is a better picture of the blossom. The tulip tree is the state tree of Indiana.
Tulip trees can grow to be very large, with trunks ten feet in diameter. I have not seen any like that around here.