Populus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Populus |
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| Foliage of Populus tremula | |
| Scientific classification | |
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Saliceae
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Populus
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| Type species | |
| Populus tremula |
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Populus is a genus of trees common in the northern hemisphere. They are commonly called poplars. The genus has 25–35 species in three sub-groups, commonly called poplars, aspens, and cottonwoods.
In the September 2006 issue of Science, it was announced that the Western Balsam Poplar (P. trichocarpa) was the first tree to have its full DNA code sequenced.
Contents
Reproduction
The flowers are mostly dioecious (rarely monoecious) and appear in early spring before the leaves. They are borne in long, drooping catkins. The male flowers have a group of 4–60 stamens on a disk. The female flower is a single-celled ovary in a cup-shaped disk.
Pollination is by wind. The fruit is a two to four-valved capsule, green to reddish-brown, mature in mid summer. It contains tiny light brown seeds surrounded by tufts of long, soft, white hairs which help wind dispersal.
Ecology
Poplars of the cottonwood section are often wetlands or riparian trees. The aspens are among the most important boreal broadleaf trees.
Poplars and aspens are important food plants for the larvae of a large number of Lepidoptera species. Pleurotus populinus, the aspen oyster mushroom, is found exclusively on dead wood of Populus trees in North America.
Images for kids
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Mature trembling aspen trees (Populus tremuloides) with young regeneration in foreground, in Fairbanks, Alaska
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The seeds of the poplar tree are easily dispersed by the wind, thanks to the fine hairs surrounding them.
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A Populus on a hill through April, September, October, February (Germany)
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Populus nigra in autumn
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Populus × petrowskiana ("Czar's Poplar") in Heinola, Finland
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Leaves of Populus lasiocarpa
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Fastigiate black poplar cultivar of the Plantierensis group, in Hungary
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Poplars dominate the flora of Khorog City Park, Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan
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Popular Populus variety G48 in Punjab, India; Jhalli Farms Village Niara/Hoshiarpur
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Traditional Pamiris house
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Rotor poplar and willow cuttings planter, planting a new nursery of poplar for biomass with short rotation
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See also
In Spanish: Álamo para niños
