The Poplars 



leaves are coated with white down. It often takes a whole 

 summer to get rid of it. 



The Acadians (probably) are responsible for the name 

 Ungues de jemmes, by which the tree is known in Louisiana. 

 The mild calumny of Gerarde is thus perpetuated and extended 

 to a species whose leaf stems are merely flexible, not flat at all ! 

 In the lumber trade the wood is known as "black poplar." It is 

 dark brown in colour. 



THREE EUROPEAN POPLARS IN CULTIVATION IN 

 AMERICA 



A. Leaves bright green, lined with white down, irregularly 

 lobed and toothed. 



(Populus alba) abele or silver-leaved poplar 

 A A. Leaves dark green on both sides, smooth, broad as long, 

 finely and regularly toothed; apex tapering. 

 B. Shape broadly pyramidal. (Populus nigra) black poplar 

 BB. Shape narrowly pyramidal. 



(P. nigra, van Italica) lombardy poplar 



The Abele or White Poplar {Populus alba, Linn.) is much 

 planted about American homes, its downy-leaved and "maple- 

 leaved" varieties having the preference. The silvery velvet 

 of the leaf linings is in sharp contrast to the dark, shining upper 

 surfaces of the leaves. The flexible stems give the wind much 

 freedom in the treetops, and the sunlight is reflected from the 

 leaves much as it is on rippling water. The pale outer bark 

 breaks in streaks and spots, showing the dark under layers, much 

 as the palest trunks of cottonwoods do. The tree is distinctly 

 a poplar in flowers and fruits. 



Two bad habits have these silvery poplars: (i) their roots 

 send up suckers, to the distress of owners and neighbours; 

 (2) their leaves accumulate and hold dust and coal soot until 

 they are filthy before the summer is half done. Moral: Plant 

 your silver poplar in the background, where its sprouting can 

 be controlled without damage to the lawn and where distance 

 lends enchantment to the view of its foliage. 



The Black Poplar (P. nigra, Linn.), of Europe and Asia, 

 has become established in certain parts of the Eastern States, but 

 it is now chiefly met with in its cultivated forms. Variety 



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