White poplar

Appearance

It is a medium-sized deciduous tree, growing to heights of up to 16–27 metres , with a trunk up to 2 metres in diameter and a broad rounded crown. The bark is smooth and greenish-white to greyish-white with characteristic diamond-shaped dark marks on young trees, becoming blackish and fissured at the base of old trees. The young shoots are covered with whitish-grey down, including the small buds. The leaves are 4–15 cm long, five-lobed, with a thick covering of white scurfy down on both sides but thicker underneath; this layer wears off 8 cm long, produced in early spring; they are dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate trees; the male catkins are grey with conspicuous dark red stamens, the female catkins are greyish-green. The female catkins lengthen to 8–10 cm after pollination, with several green seed capsules, maturing in late spring to early summer. It also propagates by means of root suckers growing from the lateral roots, often as far as 20–30 m from the trunk, to form extensive clonal colonies.

Evolution

An old English name "Abele", now rarely used, is derived from the Latin ''albellus'', white, by way of Old French ''aubel'' and Low German name ''abeel''.

Leuce/Leuka, the "White Poplar"; Leuce or Leuka was the most beautiful of the nymphs and an Oceanid; a daughter of Oceanus. Pluto fell in love with her and abducted her to the underworld. She lived out the span of her life in his realm, and when she died, the god sought consolation by creating a suitable memorial of their love: In the Elysian Fields, where the pious spend their afterlife, he brought forth a white tree into existence from her body; which became sacred for him from that moment on. In Ancient Greco-Roman mythology, it is a symbol of a peaceful afterlife and a memory of those we love who have died, and in the language of flowers its meaning is "time". It was this tree with which Herakles crowned himself to celebrate his return from the underworld.

According to ancient Roman mythology the White Poplar was consecrated to Hercules because he destroyed Cacus in a cavern adjoining the Aventine Hill, which was covered with these trees; and in the moment of his triumph he bound his brows with a branch of White Poplar as a token of his victory. Persons offering sacrifices to Hercules were always crowned with branches of this tree; and all who had gloriously conquered their enemies in battle wore garlands of it, in imitation of Hercules. Homer in the "Iliad" compares the fall of Simoisius when killed by Ajax to that of a poplar. So falls a poplar that on watery ground
Raised high its head with stately branches crowned.


Ovid mentions that Paris had carved the name of Ænone on a poplar, as Shakespeare has Orlando carve the name of Rosalind upon the trees of the forest of Arden.

Virgil gives directions for the culture of this tree and Horace speaks of the White Poplar as delighting to grow on the banks of rivers.

Uses

White poplar requires abundant light and ample moisture, and stands up well to flood water and slightly acidic soils. Its green-and-white leaves makes it an effective ornamental tree but the root suckers may cause problems in some situations. It is very attractive as an open-grown tree in water meadows, and, because of its extensive root system and tolerance of salt, is also planted to strengthen coastal sand dunes.

The majority of White Poplars in cultivation in northern Europe are female trees.

White poplar was first introduced to North America in 1748 and has a long history in cultivation. It is now found in forty-three states throughout the contiguous U.S. It has come to be considered weedy or invasive; it has been banned in Connecticut and is the most common introduced tree species on Cape Breton Island.

In US intensive forest management it is being replaced by various ''Populus'' sect. ''Aigeiros'' hybrids. The wood is soft, and used to for cellulose and to make cheap boxes.

A conical cultivar from Turkestan, ''Populus alba'' 'Pyramidalis' is sometimes planted in parks.