Black poplars

You are standing here in front of a collection of European and American black poplars. All the trees in the beginning of planting are American black poplars. You can't see the European counterparts from here, but the two specimens in the photo are indeed European black poplars.

The European black poplar (Populus nigra) is native and one of the rarest tree species in Flanders. In natural conditions it grows in river-fed forests, but in the Flemish Ardennes it is mainly preserved in the agricultural landscape. There it was often planted on plot boundaries and managed as a pollard tree. Among other things, they supplied firewood and commodious wood to the farmers. Here in Grimminge they were collected by the Institute for Forest and Nature Research (INBO) to research and use for the selection and breeding of new poplar varieties.

The American black poplar (Populus deltoides) was imported to France around 1750. From the natural crossing of both black poplars, the first so-called Canadian poplars or canada poplars (Populus x canadensis) emerged in that period. These crossbreeds sometimes proved to be more resistant to diseases and showed stronger growth. They became more popular than the black poplars in the short term.

BOS+