#6 This area is dominated by tulip poplars, fairly fast growing trees that rise tall, arrow-straight and branchless for many feet. In May, tulip poplars have large, cup-shaped flowers that contain a drop of nectar to attract pollinating insects. Leaves turn a beautiful yellow in autumn. The forest floor is open and spacious here, but the flowering plants that are present are mostly species not native to Maryland. They include Japanese honeysuckle and mutliflora rose. Such "exotic" plants often out-compete uncommon native species and may negatively affect ecological processes of the forest.