Populus
Classification
A group of poplars in a field
The genus Populus has traditionally been divided into six sections on the basis of leaf and flower characters; this classification is followed below. Recent genetic studies have largely supported this, though showing that the relationships are somewhat more complex, with some reticulate evolution due to past hybridisation and introgression events between the groups; some species (noted below) had differing relationships indicated by their nuclear DNA (paternally inherited) and chloroplast DNA sequences (maternally inherited), a clear indication of likely hybrid origin. Hybridisation continues to be common in the genus, with several hybrids between species in different sections known.
Selected species
Populus nigra in autumn
Populus section Aegiros black poplars or cottonwoods. North America, Europe, western Asia; temperate
Populus deltoides Eastern Cottonwood (Eastern North America)
Populus fremontii Fremont Cottonwood (Western North America)
Populus nigra Black Poplar (Europe) Placed here by nuclear DNA; cpDNA places in sect. Populus.
Populus canadensis (P. nigra P. deltoides) Hybrid Black Poplar
Populus section Populus aspens and White Poplar. Circumpolar subarctic and cool temperate, and mountains farther south (White Poplar warm temperate)
Populus tremula Common Aspen, Trembling Aspen or Eurasian Aspen (Europe, northern Asia)
Populus adenopoda Chinese Aspen (Eastern Asia)
Populus alba White Poplar (Southern Europe to central Asia)
Populus canescens (P. alba P. tremula) Grey Poplar
Populus davidiana Korean Aspen (Eastern Asia)
Populus grandidentata Bigtooth Aspen (Eastern North America)
Populus sieboldii Japanese Aspen (Eastern Asia)
Populus tremuloides Quaking Aspen or Trembling Aspen (North America)
Leaves of Populus lasiocarpa
Populus section Tacamahaca balsam poplars. North America, Asia; cool temperate
Populus angustifolia Willow-leaved Poplar or Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Central North America)
Populus balsamifera Ontario Balsam Poplar (Northern North America) (= P. candicans, P. tacamahaca)
Populus cathayana (Northeast Asia)
Populus koreana J.Rehnder Korean Poplar (Northeast Asia)
Populus laurifolia Laurel-leaf Poplar (Central Asia)
Populus maximowiczii A.Henry Maximowicz’ Poplar, Japanese Poplar (Northeast Asia)
Populus simonii Simon’s Poplar (Northeast Asia)
Populus szechuanica Sichuan Poplar (Northeast Asia) Placed here by nuclear DNA; cpDNA places in sect. Aegiros.
Populus trichocarpa Western Balsam Poplar or Black Cottonwood (Western North America)
Populus tristis (Northeast Asia) Placed here by nuclear DNA; cpDNA places in sect. Aegiros.
Populus ussuriensis Ussuri Poplar (Northeast Asia)
Populus yunnanensis Yunnan Poplar (East Asia)
Populus section Leucoides necklace poplars or bigleaf poplars. Eastern North America, eastern Asia; warm temperate
Populus heterophylla Swamp Cottonwood (Southeastern North America.
Populus lasiocarpa Chinese Necklace Poplar (Eastern Asia)
Populus wilsonii Wilson’s Poplar (Eastern Asia)
Populus section Turanga subtropical poplars. Southwest Asia, east Africa; subtropical to tropical
Populus euphratica Euphrates Poplar (Southwest Asia)
Populus ilicifolia Tana River Poplar (East Africa)
Populus section Abaso Mexican poplars. Mexico; subtropical to tropical
Populus guzmanantlensis (Mexico)
Populus mexicana Mexico Poplar (Mexico)
Poplars dominate the flora of Khorog City Park, GBAO, Tajikistan
Cultivation
A fastigiate Black Poplar cultivar of the Plantierensis Group, in Hungary.
Many poplars are grown as ornamental trees, with numerous cultivars used. They have the advantage of growing very big, very fast. Almost all poplars take root readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground.
Trees with fastigiate (erect, columnar) branching are particularly popular, and are widely grown across Europe and southwest Asia. However, like willows, poplars have very vigorous and invasive root systems stretching up to 40 m from the trees; planting close to houses or ceramic water pipes may result in damaged foundations and cracked walls and pipes due to their search for moisture.
A simple, reproducible, high frequency micropropagation protocol in Eastern Cottonwood Populus deltoides has been reported by Yadav et al. 2009
Uses
Manufacturing
In many areas fast-growing hybrid poplars are grown on plantations for pulpwood
Poplar is widely used for the manufacture of paper.
It is also sold as inexpensive hardwood timber, used for pallets and cheap plywood; more specialised uses include matches and the boxes in which camembert cheese is sold.
Traditional Pamiri House
Poplar wood is also widely used in the snowboard industry for the snowboard core, because it has exceptional flexibility, and is sometimes used in the bodies of electric guitars and drums.
Poplar wood, particularly when seasoned, makes a good hearth for a bow drill.
Due to its high tannic acid content, the bark has been used in Europe for tanning leather.
Energy
There is interest in using poplar as an energy crop for biomass or biofuel, in energy forestry systems, particularly in light of its high energy in-energy out ratio, large carbon mitigation potential and fast growth.
In the United Kingdom poplar (as with fellow energy crop willow) is typically grown for two to five years (with single or multiple stems), then harvested and burned – the yield of some varieties can be as high as 12 oven dry tonnes every year
Art
Poplar was the most common wood used in Italy for panel paintings; the Mona Lisa and indeed most famous early renaissance Italian paintings are on poplar. The wood is generally white, often with a slightly yellowish cast.
Some stringed instruments are made with one-piece poplar backs; violas made in this fashion are said to have a particularly resonant tone.
Land Management
Lombardy Poplars are used as a windbreak around agricultural fields to protect against wind erosion.
Agriculture
Logs from the poplar provide a growing medium for Shiitake mushrooms.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Populus
^ “Genus Populus (poplars)”. Taxonomy. UniProt. http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/3689. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
^ a b c d Meikle, R. D. (1984). Willows and Poplars of Great Britain and Ireland. BSBI Handbook No. 4. ISBN 0-901158-07-0.
^ a b Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
^ a b Keeler, H. L. (1900). Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them. New York: Charles Scriber’s Sons. pp. 410412.
^ Joint Genome Institute: Populus trichocarpa
^ Eckenwalder, J. E. (1977). North American cottonwoods (Populus, Salicaceae) of sections Abaso and Aigeiros. J. Arnold Arbor. 58: 193-208.
^ Hamzeh, M., & Dayanandan, S. (2004). Phylogeny of Populus (Salicaceae) based on nucleotide sequences of chloroplast TRNT-TRNF region and nuclear rDNA. Amer. J. Bot. 91: 1398-1408. Available online
^ Note: the spelling is disputed; some sources use Aegiros, others use Aigeiros
^ Poplar cultivation in Europe
^ Aylott, Matthew J. (2008). “Yield and spatial supply of bioenergy poplar and willow short-rotation coppice in the UK” (PDF). New Phytologist 178 (2 fvhc): 358370. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2008.02396.x. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118760125/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
^ Shiitake growth studies performed by RMIT
Categories: Salicaceae | Populus | Trees
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