THE POPLAR TREE.
[Populus.[Q] Nat. Ord.—Amentiferæ; Linn.—Diœc. Octa.]
[Q] Generic characters. Flowers of both kinds in cylindrical catkins. Barren flowers consisting of numerous stamens, arising out of a small, oblique, cup-like perianth. Fertile flowers consisting of 4 or 8 stigmas, arising out of a cup-like perianth; fruit a follicle, 2-valved, almost 2-celled by the rolling in of the margins of the valves.
The Poplars are deciduous trees, mostly growing to a large size; natives of Europe, North America, some parts of Asia, and the north of Africa. They are all of rapid growth, some of them extremely so; and they are all remarkable for a tremulous motion in their leaves, when agitated by the least breath of wind. The species delight in a rich, moist soil, in the neighbourhood of running water, but they do not thrive in marshes or soils saturated with stagnant moisture. Their wood is light, of a white or pale yellowish colour, very durable when kept dry, not liable to warp or twist when sawn up, and yields, from its elasticity, without splitting or cracking when struck with violence; that of some species is also very slow in taking fire, and burns, when ignited, in a smouldering manner, without flame, on which account it is valuable, and extensively used for the flooring of manufactories and other buildings. Of the fifteen species of Poplar described in Loudon's Arboretum, three are believed to be natives of this country—P. canescens, P. tremula, and P. nigra.
P. canescens, the Gray or Common White Poplar, and its different varieties, form trees of from eighty to one hundred feet high and upwards, with silvery smooth bark, upright and compact branches, and a clear trunk, to a considerable height, and a spreading head, usually in full-grown trees, but thinly clothed with foliage. The leaves are roundish, deeply waved, lobed, and toothed; downy beneath, chiefly grayish; leaves of young shoots cordate-ovate, undivided fertile catkins cylindrical. Stigmas 8.