152 PLANTS AND MAN 
the Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra, var. italica) or 
the Irish Yew (Taxus baccata, var. fastigiata). These 
are freaks or sports, the character being that all the 
branches, not only the leader, tend to assume a 
vertical position. The Irish Yew originated as a wild 
“female” (pistillate) seedling found on the hills of 
Co. Fermanagh about 1780 and never rediscovered. 
It appears to be a juvenile form, preserving through- 
out life its seedling characters—a kind of Peter Pan 
among plants. Of the Lombardy Poplar the origin is 
not known, but it was no doubt similar. Seedlings 
of the Irish Yew revert to the ordinary type, and all 
the Irish Yews in cultivation are pieces of the original 
plant grown as cuttings. Poplars, like the Yew, bear 
the male’) \\(stamuimate)) and.“ female”. (pistillate) 
flowers on different trees, and the original Lombardy 
Poplar having been a “ male” it also can be propa- 
gated only by cuttings—probably seedlings would in 
any case revert to the usual form. 
The reverse of this abnormal erect habit is seen in 
weeping trees, where the branches for unexplained 
reasons seek to grow downward. In nature this 
results in a creeping habit. If planted on a height 
the branches will deliberately grow downwards 
towards the ground. Cultivators graft such forms on 
the top of a tall stem of a normal specimen, with the 
result that we see in the Weeping Ash and similar 
gardeners’ productions. 
Another large group of casual abnormalities is 
concerned with the colour of leaves. The Purple 
Beech is a case in point. It was not produced by 
selection, but arose naturally, no doubt as a chance 
seedling. In this instance the character is usually 
