Product Code Database
Populus alba, commonly called silver poplar,Webb, C. J.; Sykes, W. R.; Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. 4. Christchurch, New Zealand, Botany Division, D.S.I.R. silverleaf poplar, white poplar, or abele is a species of Populus, most closely related to the ( Populus sect. Populus). It is native to a region spanning from the Atlas Mountains of Africa, through most of South and Central Europe, into Central Asia; it has been introduced to many temperate, moist regions worldwide. It grows in moist sites, often by watersides, in regions with hot summers and cold to mild winters.Flora Europaea: Populus albaRushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins .
It was the most commonly used wood for in Italy throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, until mostly replaced as a matrix by canvas from 1500 onwards. Most earlier Italian Renaissance paintings are painted on poplar panels, the Mona Lisa being but one example.
White poplar requires abundant light and ample moisture, and stands up well to flood water and slightly acidic soils. Its green-and-white leaves make it an effective ornamental tree, but the root suckers may cause problems in some situations. It is very attractive as an open-grown tree in water meadows, and because of its extensive root system and tolerance of salt, is also planted to strengthen coastal .Vedel, H., & Lange, J. (1960). Trees and Bushes in Wood and Hedgerow. Metheun & Co. Ltd., London.
A yellow dye is produced from the bark of the white poplar., s.v. Populus alba
The majority of white poplars in cultivation in northern Europe are female trees.
In US intensive forest management, it is being replaced by various Populus sect. Aigeiros hybrids. The wood is soft, and used for cellulose and to make cheap boxes.
It also grows in the temperate zones of South America. Mainly in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay A conical cultivar from Turkestan, Populus alba 'Pyramidalis' (Bolle's poplar; syn. P. bolleana) is sometimes planted in parks.
Leuce/Leuka, the "White Poplar"; Leuce or Leuka (Ancient Greek: Λεύκη) ("White" or specifically "White Poplar") was the most beautiful of the nymphs and an Oceanid, a daughter of Oceanus. Hades fell in love with her and abducted her to the underworld. She lived out the span of her life in his realm, and when she died, the god sought consolation by creating a suitable memorial of their love: In the Elysium, where the pious spend their afterlives, he brought forth a white tree into existence from her body, which became sacred for him from that moment on. In Ancient Greco-Roman mythology, it is a symbol of a peaceful afterlife and a memory of those we love who have died, and in the language of flowers, its meaning is "time". Herakles crowned himself with this tree to celebrate his return from the underworld.
According to ancient Roman mythology, the white poplar was consecrated to Hercules because he destroyed Cacus in a cavern adjoining the Aventine Hill, which was covered with these trees; in the moment of his triumph, he bound his brows with a branch of white poplar as a token of his victory. Persons offering sacrifices to Hercules were always crowned with branches of this tree, and all who had gloriously conquered their enemies in battle wore garlands of it, in imitation of Hercules. Homer in Iliad compares the fall of Simoisius when killed by Ajax to that of a poplar.
Ovid mentions that Paris had carved the name of Ænone on a poplar, as Shakespeare has Martext carve the name of Martext upon the trees of the forest of Arden.
Virgil gives directions for the culture of this tree and Horace speaks of the white poplar as delighting to grow on the banks of rivers.
|
|
