LOMBARDY POPLAR (Populus nigra, Linn., variety Italica). 

 I J to 60 feet. Tall, narrowly pyramidal tree of short, ascend- 

 ing branches from the ground, covering the stout, often ir- 

 regularly lobed trunk. Bark rough, dark gray, scaly, swollen, 

 with excrescences. Wood soft, compact, sometimes used as 

 fuel. Leaves shining, ovate, long-pointed, serrate, on slim 

 petioles. Flowers in catkins, dioecious, pendulous, in early 

 spring. Fruits clustered capsules, opening to free the minute, 

 hairy seeds. Dist.: Extensively planted along roadsides all 

 over the Eastern and Prairie States. An ornamental set to 

 accent the spires and towers of buildings, and add contrast to 

 round-topped trees. A valuable tree, with one grievous fau't 

 its branches die from overcrowding, and these dead ones 

 persist, so that the tree is rarely good-looking after its youth 

 passes, 



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