Pyramid poplar
| Pyramid poplar | ||||||||||||
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Pyramid poplars ( Populus nigra 'Italica') in winter |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Populus nigra 'Italica' | ||||||||||||
| Muenchh. |
The pyramidal poplar , columnar poplar , pointed poplar or Italian poplar ( Populus nigra 'Italica') is a form or variety of the black poplar and is widespread in Europe . Based on contemporary reports, it can be assumed that the form was already cultivated in northern Italy before 1745 . The true origin of the form is unclear; it could possibly come from Persia; it may have been sexually reproducible in the past, whereas today there are only male specimens and an always female form 'Italica Femina', which differs from 'Italica' in some features.
description
The pyramid poplar grows as a deciduous tree . It stands out due to its columnar growth and the conical crown . Their trunk branches early and the branches grow upwards. It reaches an average height of 25 to 30 meters, but specimens up to 40 meters have also been measured; The shallow streaking strong roots can be just as long, which then also tend to lift the ground and the road surface. The young branches of the pyramidal poplar are very flexible and tough, but with age they become brittle and quickly break out of the crown in a storm, which is why it is actually less suitable, despite its popularity as a park and avenue tree. In the wind, however, healthy poplars can sometimes hold their ground better than oaks, for example, because of their flexibility . Columnar poplars often have advanced stem rot or rot in the rhizome due to the broken branches in old age, from which they then break out in a storm. From the remaining trunk parts or from the widely ramified roots near the surface of the earth, many new eruptions will then quickly develop.
Its triangular, glossy dark green leaves are slightly smaller than those of the black poplar.
The tree is always male, so it cannot be reproduced generatively and exists in some clone lines .
use
The pyramidal poplar is often found in Central Europe as an extremely fast-growing, but not very long-lived avenue tree. In the past, they were also used to reforest cleared riparian forests . It has been cultivated in Germany since the beginning of the 19th century. It was planted in long rows on the Lower Rhine during the Napoleonic occupation as a waypoint to better orient the French troops.
Due to its high growth, it is also planted between fields to reduce wind erosion . It is suitable for short rotation plantations and for windbreaks .
Systematics
Synonyms for the form Populus nigra 'Italica' described here are Populus nigra var. Italica Muenchh. , Populus pyramidalis Rozanova and Populus nigra var. Pyramidalis (Rozanova) Spach , as it was at times considered as a variety. This form is always male and exists in some clone lines; it is reproduced asexually for planting.
There are also other columnar varieties of black poplar:
- Populus nigra 'Italica Femina', which is planted less often and is always feminine; this form is characterized by a different habitus. It has fewer branches, which instead grow slightly inwardly curved; Each of these branches forms its own columnar crown, which gives the entire tree an almost inverse triangular habit .
- Populus nigra 'Plantierensis' was created in the 19th century in the Simon-Louis Frères tree nursery in Plantières-les-Metz; it is a cross of 'Italica' with P. nigra subsp. betulifolia . It is still available and was also used to breed fast growing poplar varieties.
- Populus nigra 'Gigantea', a female, fast growing clone with a slightly wider crown
- Populus nigra 'Afghanica', also known as 'Thevestina', is a columnar shape with a strikingly light bark, it is widely planted in Western Asia and Southeast Europe.
literature
- Clemens Alexander Wimmer: Brief history of the columnar poplar . In: Zandera . tape 16 , no. 1 , 2001 ( historegaerten.de [PDF; 32 kB ; accessed on January 18, 2007]).
- Alan Mitchell: A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe . Collins Publishers, London 1974.
Web links
- Description and images of the pyramid poplar at Baumkunde.de
- Interesting facts about the species on the website of the University of Frankfurt
- Information about the species at Baumportal.de
- 3. Pyramid poplar (Populus nigra 'Italica') on the website of the city of Lüdenscheid.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jens Voss: Landscape-defining element on the Lower Rhine: "The era of the poplar is over". Retrieved December 27, 2019 .