332 



WEEDS AXD USEFUL PLANTS. 



and the cotton which is shed from the capsules is so abundant as to 

 render the tree objectionable, in the immediate vicinity of dwellings. It 

 is stated in Selby's History of British Forest Trees (1842) that the 

 North American Continent is probably the " real native country " of 

 this Poplar. If so, Aiton's specific name [GrcBca) was an unfortunate 

 misnomer ; a mistake, however, not uncommon in vulgar names. 



4. P. dilata'ta. Ait. Leaves much dilated, nearly deltoid, acuminate, 

 serrate, glabrous on both sides. 



Dilated Populus. Lombardy Poplar. Italian Poplar. 



Fr. Peuplier Italien. Ger. Lombardische Pappel. Span. Alamo de 



Lombardia. 



stem 60 - 80 feet high, and 1 - 2 or 3 feet in diameter ; 'branches numerous, nearly erect, 

 forming a close conical symmetrical top. Leaves 2-3 inches long, and wider than long ; 

 pe/ioZes about 2 inches long, laterally compressed near the leaf. Staminate aments 2-3 

 inches long. 



About houses and along avenues : cultivated. Native of Italy. Fl. April. Fr. 



Obs. This was a favorite ornamental tree, for a number of years ; but 

 a more correct taste has prevailed of late years, and we no longer see 

 the long avenues of these stiff ungraceful trees that were formerly so 

 common. Mr. Watson^ in his Annals of Philadelphia, says it was in- 

 troduced to that city, from England, in the year 1784, by William 

 Hamilton, Esq., of the '•' Woodlands," west side of the river Schuylkill. 

 The Botanical Editor of Rees's Cyclopaedia, however, thinks they have 

 only the pistillate plant in England, — whereas it was the staminate plant 

 that was introduced by Mr. Hamilton ; and he may have procured it 

 from Italy. All the Lombardy Poplars that are, or have been, in the 

 U. States, may be considered as elongations, branches, or offeets, of 

 the tree from which Mr. Hamilton obtained his specimen. 



5. P. al'ba, L. Leaves roundish heart-shaped, or often 3-lobed, 

 coarsely toothed, smooth and green above, mostly white and densely to- 

 mentose beneath. 



White Populus. Silver Poplar. Abele-tree. 



stem 30 - 60 feet high, with spreading branches and smooth greyish-white bark. Leaves 

 2-3 inches long, — sometimes glabrous on both sides when old ; petioles 1-2 inches in 

 length. Aments 1-2 inches long, the bracts finely laciniate and ciliate with white hairs. 



0')s. This species is often cultivated as a shade-tree. In point of 

 beauty it bears no comparison with numbers of the natives of our own 

 forest, while the numerous suckers which it sends up make it a real nui- 

 sance. Some of the grass-plats in the public squares of New York have 

 been quite overrun by the wide-spreading suckers of this tree ; even in 

 closely-paved streets they work their way up between the stones. It 

 should be discarded altogether. 



The Balsam Poplar (p, balsamifera,i-) and its variety candicans, 

 are found in the northern portions of the Union ; they have their large 

 buds covered with a fragrant resin or varnish. A tincture of the buds 



