A tree whose leaves flash white on the underside in the wind, so the crown looks as if covered in snow from a distance
White poplar.
Nature · Trees
White poplar
Long-naturalised introduction (non-native per Woodland Trust) · deciduous, to 20 m · wet ground, coasts
Populus alba — Salicaceae
The whitest tree in the landscape, white poplar has leaves densely felted white beneath so that a breeze turns the crown to silver. It is native to central and southern Europe and North Africa but has been in Britain long enough to be naturalised, often by water and on the coast. It suckers to form thickets.
How to know it
How to spot them
- ▸Leaves dark green above, coated in bright white woolly felt below, with about five irregular lobes
- ▸Pale grey bark with black diamond-shaped lenticels
- ▸Young twigs and buds covered in white hair; buds spiral and are pressed to the twig
- ▸Flattened leaf stalks; red male catkins
- ▸Spreads by suckers into thickets
How to know it
Pale grey bark marked with black diamonds, twigs and buds covered in white hair
White poplar.
Consecrated to Hercules after he slew Cacus; sacrificers wore garlands of it
White poplar.
Planted as a windbreak on coasts because it tolerates sand and salt winds, and forms thickets by suckering
White poplar.
Historic documents refer to "Abel" trees, hinting at a long presence in Britain
White poplar.
Lobed leaves rather than the triangular ones of its native relative; buds hairy unlike other poplars
White poplar (Populus alba).
Quick-fire facts
- •Woodland Trust: native to central and southern Europe, Morocco and Iberia; naturalised in Britain, in moist ground often by water
- •It is dioecious, with red male catkins
- •Historic references to "Abel" trees indicate it has been in Britain a long time
- •Woodland Trust: the buds are hairy, unlike other poplars, and the leaf stalks flattened
- •Caterpillars of puss moth, poplar grey and sallow kitten feed on it
- •Roman myth linked it to Hercules; victors wore white poplar garlands
- •Bark was used medicinally for its astringent and anti-inflammatory properties
- •Poplars are prone to canker, leaf rust and poplar scab
Drill it — 7 cards
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Sources
- Woodland Trust — White poplar (Populus alba)