Balm-of-Gilead - Populus balsamifera x deltoides = P. x jackii

A suckering tree to 20 metres. Buds sticky and strongly balsam scented. Fruiting catkins 7 to 16 cm before the leaves. Leaves heart shaped and toothed.

There are several very similar hybrids and cultivars

Identification is difficult, and cannot usually be made form a photo.  The County Recorder has asked for a specimen of this plant to be retained for verification - leaves should be collected from the mature branches NOT the suckers, which (in common with most poplars) are of atypical shape and should not be used to identify a species.

Damp areas, often near water. Sometimes planted, but other trees (like the ones photographed) appear in random locations, and seem completely naturalised.

March and early April.

Deciduous.

Infrequent but widespread in Britain.

Not common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 14 of the 617 tetrads.