What kind of tree is dropping stuff all over my patio and yard right now?

[Anonymous]

They're about an inch long, thin, soft like a petal, and orange-brown. They are literally everywhere—we had just mulched before they started falling, and the mulch now looks a shade lighter due to these things just being everywhere. When I search for this, I keep coming up with oak catkins, but they aren't catkins (no little pollen clusters on them, just smooth edges). What are they?

[Anonymous]

Maple, probably. Don’t worry about it.

[Anonymous]

It must be a squirrel and it’s family playing tricks.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I looked, but it doesn't appear to be a maple. Not worried, just extremely curious! On second look, the things being dropped are actually shorter than an inch, and they do have smooth edges but they're curled up along the long edges, and have a little white fuzz inside.

They look like this:
https://ibb.co/j6w8tdt
https://ibb.co/Q9s6hQT

[Anonymous]

The cicadas came early for you. 🤣

[Anonymous]

Poplar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Poplar?

+1. That's my guess. And if it is a tulip poplar, the flowers are sticky.

[Anonymous]

Tulip poplar - we have two large ones near the house and they drop things all year long. (But the neighbors love them . . .)