BLACK POPLAR – Populus nigra ssp.betulifolia: [ 34 & 72 ]
Grows to 30m and can live for 200 years, this tree is becoming rarer in the countryside. Dark brown bark often looks black and is full of fissures and cracks. Leaves are shiney, green and heart shaped with fine, tiny hairs. Red male catkins and green-yellow female catkins grow on different trees and are wind pollinated. The females develop fluffy seeds which fall in autumn. The catkins also provide pollen for bees while birds eat the seeds. It is the food plant for many moths including the poplar hawk moth. The fine, white wood was used to make cartwheels and floorboards. It can be coppiced so also provides bean sticks and clothes pegs.
Grows to 30m and can live for 200 years, this tree is becoming rarer in the countryside. Dark brown bark often looks black and is full of fissures and cracks. Leaves are shiney, green and heart shaped with fine, tiny hairs. Red male catkins and green-yellow female catkins grow on different trees and are wind pollinated. The females develop fluffy seeds which fall in autumn. The catkins also provide pollen for bees while birds eat the seeds. It is the food plant for many moths including the poplar hawk moth. The fine, white wood was used to make cartwheels and floorboards. It can be coppiced so also provides bean sticks and clothes pegs.
