Handbook of Trees of tub jSTortiiekx States am> ("anada. 



07 



The Lombardy Poplar is tlio most disluu't 

 of tlie roplars in habit of <rio\\th. ami prob- 

 ably no other introdiK-ed tree has been more 

 widely [)lanted for ornamental purposes. Its 

 tall spire-shaped tops are laml-marUs in al- 

 nu)-t excry pupulatetl region ivotw the Atlantic 

 to tlie I'arilie and from the Canadian frontiiT 

 to the Mexican lionndary, and in some h'.ure- 

 pean countries it is niueh more abundant than 

 here. It is a tree of very rapid growth and. 

 in our northern states, short-lived, but once 

 planted it spreads by means of suckers and 

 persists in the soil for generations, often be- 

 coming a nuisance in its abundance. Its de- 

 sirability, however, in landsca])*' architecture. 

 as for the relief of a monot(nious sky-line, is 

 undisputed. It sometimes attains the height of 

 100 ft. with short ridged and buttressed trunk 

 (!-S ft. in diameter, and this latter measure- 

 ment is hardly more than doubled in the width 

 of its compact narrow top. Botanically the 

 tree is a bone of contention. Its leaf and 

 floral characters are so clo.se to those of the 

 European P. nigra L. that it is held by seme 

 to be a sport of that species, all existing trees 

 having come from a certain one or few trees 

 found growing somewhere naturally many 

 3'ears ago. This theory would seem to be sub- 

 stantiated by the fact that in this country at 

 least all of the trees are staniinate, repro- 

 duction being effected by its stoloniferous 

 roots and fallen branches. The theory is mili- 

 tated against by the fact that its new shoots 

 are glabrous, while those ol /'. nifpa are 

 pubescent. For convenience we will consider 

 it a sport of the /'. nifim. It takes its name 

 from the province of Lombardy in Italy, imt 

 its hardiness in far colder climates than that 

 of Italy would indicate its origin in a more 

 northern region. It is thought to have origi- 

 nated in .Afghanistan wliere it is said to grow 

 naturally as a forest tree. 



The botanical characters, so far a< we are 

 al)le to observe them by a study of the tiee as 

 we ha\e it in this country — the staniinate 

 only. — are apparently identical with those of 

 the I', nigra, excepting its fastigiate habit of 

 growth and glabrous new shoots.2 



1. Svn. Populus (lUatata Alt. 



2. For P. nigra L. see p. 427. 



3. A. W., Ill, 73. 



