Poplars are trees used for landscaping city streets and creating park areas. They grow rapidly, gain leafy mass, breed easily, are decorative, some have medicinal properties.
Black poplar (lat. Populus nigra) Is one of the representatives of the genus from the Willow family. It is common in Europe, Siberia, Kazakhstan, China, North Africa, and the Caucasus. In Russia, this tree is also called a sedge.. Grows on the plains, in floodplains, prefers black soil. In nature, it is found singly and as part of mixed stands. Adjacent to birches, willows, other species of poplars. Adapts to any adverse environmental conditions, i.e., has good adaptive properties.
Botanical Description
Osokor - a large deciduous plant. Trunks up to 30 m or more in height, reach 1.5 m in thickness, rarely branch. The bark of young trees is gray. In adults, it is almost black, thick, covered with deep cracks in the lower part, closer to the top a little lighter and looks smoother. The root system has a complex structure, including growing on the surface, deepening at an angle and penetrating to great depth anchor roots. If the trunks are covered with silt or sand, additional roots form over time. This structure helps to supply trees with a large amount of moisture, provides rapid growth and holding in a stable position in adverse weather conditions.
Lateral shoots are usually located at an acute angle, less often almost perpendicular to the trunk, form a broad ovoid or cylindrical crown. In old trees, it becomes sprawling and tent-like.
The apical buds are brown in color, elongated, rather large, up to 15 mm, with sharp tips, covered with a thick, resinous coating. Lateral slightly smaller, tightly pressed to the shoots. When they swell, they begin to shine, become sticky, emit a strong fragrant aroma.
The leaves are simple, smooth, have thin flattened petioles, are arranged next. Rounded and broad at the base, they taper to a pointed tip. The length of the plates is about 10 cm, the width is 4–5 cm. When blooming, they are sticky, light green, covered with a thin mesh of veins. The edges are finely serrated. Adult leaves are dark green, slightly lighter on the back.
A variety of sedge is pyramidal, or Italian poplar (lat. Populus nigra var. piramidalis) In the wild, it was first discovered on the Apennine Peninsula. The crown of this poplar is narrow, elongated, begins almost from the surface of the soil, shoots grow almost vertically upward, parallel to the trunk. The leaves are smaller than that of the sedge, a rhomboid shape. The plant reaches 35 m in height. Slender straight-stem trees with neat, dense crowns are suitable for breaking alleys, planting along roads and landscaping city streets.
Bloom
Black poplar is a dioecious plant, i.e., has female and male specimens. Flowers are long thin earrings hanging on the shoots. They form in early May, almost simultaneously with the opening of leaf buds. Men’s are very beautiful: fringed, purplish-burgundy, up to 11 cm long. Women’s about 5-6 cm, yellowish, after fertilization increase 1.5 times. The wind is pollinated by the wind. After 1-1.5 months, the seeds ripen. They are enclosed in small dry bivalve boxes, covered with white hairs. Scattered by the wind. Fluff promotes transport over distances of several kilometers.
The sedge begins to bloom and bear fruit from 10–20 years of age. One individual produces several million seeds, most of them germinate. In early June, poplar “snowfall” usually occurs in the middle lane. Fluff strengthens streets, courtyards, flies into rooms, causes allergy attacks. In dry, warm, windy weather, fruit bolls begin to spread especially actively. To prevent this situation, only copies of the same sex can be planted.
Black poplar lives 300-350 years, is the most durable among other related species. Old trees become thick, thick, grow in breadth.
Application
Osokori are great for landscaping settlements. Advantages - fast growth, decorativeness, ability to clean the air of harmful impurities, dust and gases. Dense high crowns of trees emit several times more oxygen than pine, spruce, other coniferous and deciduous species.
Planting black poplars along river banks and steep slopes helps stop the process of soil destruction, protects against shedding. This is facilitated by powerful branched roots. Trees are planted along roads, in steppe zones, along the edges of ravines.
Wood
Black poplar is a source of cheap wood. The sapwood of the logs is rather narrow, yellowish in color. The core mass is light brown, diffused-vascular, clearly delimited. In structure and properties, the sedge is similar to aspen.
Annual rings are weakly expressed, layers are equally dense, with narrow core rays, the texture is discreet. Succulent, like other types of poplars, is very soft. The density of dried wood is 400–420 kg / m3. During processing, such disadvantages as warping, excessive viscosity, a tendency to crack and rupture of fibers are revealed. It is not easy to achieve a smooth surface of the material, more often it remains fleecy. Osokor holds nails and screws poorly, resistance to shock loads is low. When pressed hard or pressed with a hard object, dents remain on the surface. Without additional protection, the tree quickly swells, is damaged by a fungus, blackens and begins to rot. Moisture resistance is one of the lowest.
Due to porosity and low hardness, black poplar wood is easily cut, impregnated with paints, varnishes and antiseptics, glues well. It is used in the pulp and paper, turning and furniture industries. From it produce:
- paper, cardboard;
- rayon;
- packaging containers;
- Matches
- cuttings of shovels and other working equipment;
- wooden kitchen utensils: cups, plates, spoons, jugs;
- cooperage products.
With the development of the production of glued materials, black poplar began to be used in the manufacture of plywood, veneer, and decorative boards.
Pharmaceuticals
The buds of a tree are medicinal raw materials. The composition includes such bioactive substances as:
- glycosides;
- malic and gallic acids;
- essential oils, resins;
- gum.
For medicinal purposes, young foliage is also used, which is collected together with the kidneys in April after the start of sap flow. The best raw materials are unopened, bitter-coated kidneys with a bitter taste.
Preparations prepared on the basis of black poplar have a pronounced antimicrobial, expectorant, antipyretic and analgesic effect, relieve inflammation, stimulate the work of the stomach, kidneys and liver. Salicin and populin used in pharmaceuticals are isolated from it. Infusions and decoctions of fresh or dried raw materials treat bronchopulmonary diseases, inflammatory and infectious processes of the genitourinary organs, dermatosis, eczema, wash wounds, abrasions, boils, ulcers. In folk medicine, poplar water is used to improve hair growth, eliminate dandruff, relieve symptoms of intestinal inflammation, rheumatism, hemorrhoids. An extract from the kidneys of acorns is part of drugs that facilitate the release of nicotine addiction.
Essential oil of acorns is used to make perfume compositions, added to cosmetics and cleaning products. In beekeeping farms, black poplar is a source of pollen and propolis.
Growing on the site
Propagation is propagated by seeds, basal shoots, cuttings. In favorable conditions, planting material easily survives, quickly begins to grow.
Sites should be flat or with a slight slope. It is undesirable to place black poplar in lowland, often swampy places. The tree does not tolerate heavy, clay or saline soils. Water-permeable loams, sandstones, chernozem are suitable for it. Loose soil should be medium. You should not plant a tree near the sidewalks, over the elements of infrastructure, in front of the road. A powerful root system can destroy the coating, touch deep-lying pipes and cables. It is necessary to plant a plant at a distance of several meters from the walls of buildings and high fences.
Landing is carried out in September or in the spring after snow melts.. For annual seedlings, they dig holes 60 × 60 cm in size, add organic fertilizers. Trees placed in the soil are watered. In the season of active growth, it is desirable to feed them with phosphorus fertilizers and manure.
Black poplar grows 70–100 cm per year. It is required to trim damaged shoots, loosen the soil. In dry periods, trees need to be watered with plenty of water. In the early years, you need to moisten the soil at least 1 time per week, spending 20-25 liters of water per plant.
Propagate the seedlings with shoots and seeds simply. Cuttings root in the ground for 4–5 weeks. They can be immediately planted in permanent places. Seeds provide 98 percent germination, just throw them in loose soil and lightly sprinkle with soil.