French solver shook reptile from yellow poplar (5,4)

I believe the answer is:

tulip tree

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'yellow poplar' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'french solver shook reptile' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
an anagram of 'reptile' is 'liptree' which is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'from' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for tulip tree that I've seen is " source of timber".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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