Under the tall, gloomy old Poplars, important documents were signed and oaths were pronounced.
In the era of revolutions, the poplar was a symbol of the struggle of the people for freedom and rights.
At the same time, in Chinese traditions, the tree meant the unity of opposites - yin and yang. Thanks to their colors, Poplar leaves represented black and white, the beginning and the end.
In folk tales, Poplar personified a gentle and delicate nature. Poplar leaves, like Aspen, trembled in the wind.
Since ancient times, it was believed that Poplars are able to absorb negative energy and protect the house from evil spirits. Like guards, tall trees stood on the streets in cities and villages. Many old-timers believe that trees cannot endlessly absorb evil thoughts and, in the end, give a lot to the world.
poplar names
There are several theories about the origin of the word "poplar".
According to one version, the tree could be called "Popol", which is derived from the Latin name for the tree "populus". At some point, the word changed for unknown reasons.
The word "populus" from Latin actually means "people".
Where poplar grows
There are about 90 species of this tree. One of the rarest, listed in the Red Book is the Black Poplar.
Poplar belongs to the willow family. In nature, it can be found along the banks of rivers and on the slopes of hills, however, it is most often found along roads and in parks in cities and villages.
Wild species are extremely sensitive to soil moisture. That is why Poplars are not found near swamps and swamps. Cultivated plants, on the contrary, take root well in almost any soil and even in heavily polluted areas.
Various types of Poplars grow in Siberia, Northwestern Russia, the Far East, America, Mexico, China and even East Africa.
Poplar grows very fast and within 40 years reaches an incredible size. The maximum age of such Poplar reaches 150 years. There are cases when the age of the Black Poplar was about 400 years.
What does Poplar look like?
Poplar is a slender tall tree with a strong thick trunk and a silvery crown. The height of the Black Poplar sometimes reaches 40 meters, while the maximum recorded girth of the trunk is more than 4 meters.
Poplar's crown is very dense and broad. Over time, many branches dry up. It is as if negative energy is drying up an old tree from the inside.
The bark of the common poplar has a grayish tint and cracks over time.
The tree is dioecious. In the summer, female flowers turn into that same poplar fluff - white snow against the backdrop of a hot summer.
When poplar blossoms
The flowering of Poplar begins in April or May, depending on the region. Due to the high content of pollen in the flowers, the tree is considered an excellent honey plant.
In June and July, ripe fruits with seeds are separated from the branches and spread through forests, cities and parks.
Healing properties of Poplar
The bark, seeds and buds of the plant are used as medicines.
Poplar bark contains tannins, glycosides and alkaloids. Thanks to this, a decoction of the bark has a sedative effect and calms the nervous system.
At the same time, tannins have an astringent effect and are effective for indigestion.
Decoctions from the kidneys effectively fight inflammation and increase the body's resistance.
An infusion of poplar leaves is used as a wound healing agent.
There are preparations based on Poplar that can cope with a depressive state and normalize sleep.
Poplar buds, powdered and mixed with other ingredients, are used for hair loss. This ointment is able to stimulate the hair follicles.
Contraindications
Tannins in preparations from Poplar bark can aggravate the condition of the problematic gastrointestinal tract.
It must be remembered that the use of any properties of Poplar for medicinal purposes, like any other plant, is possible only after consultation with specialists.
Poplar Application
Poplar wood is used in industry as a raw material for making paper, matches, plywood and even charcoal.
Despite the fact that poplar wood is not a favorite material for carvers and joiners, it is very valuable. The tree is able to quickly reach its maturity, therefore it is an important and fast source of renewable natural resources.
Poplar is capable of producing a huge amount of oxygen and surpasses even Pine and El.
Many types of plants are unpretentious in the soil and are able to withstand increased air pollution by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. That is why this plant has been planted in parks and along roads for many decades in a row.
Unfortunately, Poplar is also known for being a strong irritant for allergy sufferers. This fact was clearly not taken into account in Soviet times during the mass planting of Poplars in residential areas.
The oldest Poplar grows in Ukraine. Its age is approximately 200 years, while the girth of the trunk is just over 9 meters.
During the hungry war years, the bast layer under the tree bark was dried and added to flour for baking bread.
As you know, the living layer of a tree is a valuable source of microelements, therefore it was often an assistant in the fight against hunger in the most difficult times in the history of the country.
Poplar bark is very light, so it was often used as a float in fishing nets.
Poplars love to change their gender. Female catkins may form on the male plant. Scientists explain this phenomenon by unfavorable ecology.
Poplar (Populus), has about 35 species, a genus of fast-growing, short-lived trees of the willow family (Salicaceae). Homeland - the Northern Hemisphere, where poplars grow from the Arctic to the subtropics. The sizes vary from medium to large: in many species, the maximum height is about 30 m, and the diameter of the trunk reaches 2.4 m. Poplar is characterized by a pale velvety bark of young shoots and a rough, deeply cracked bark of old trunks. All poplars easily propagate vegetatively (by root offspring, cuttings, stakes), are widely used as soil and water protection, and some species are used as ornamental and landscaping trees.
Black poplar (black poplar) Populus nigra L. - tree 18-40 m high, willow family. The name is given to it by the color of the bark, which is dark gray, almost black, the leaves are broadly ovate, with a serrated edge, glossy from above. The flowers look like long hanging earrings. Men's earrings are purple-red. Black poplar blooms before the leaves bloom. It is distributed in central Russia. It prefers to grow along the banks of rivers and in low places.
One of the Greek legends tells how poplars appeared on Earth. Phaeton (the son of the sun god), in order to prove his divine origin, decided to ride across the sky on the chariot of Helios, but could not cope with the team, which, sweeping away everything in its path, rushed from the sky to Earth. Zeus struck the chariot with lightning and smashed it to prevent all life on Earth from perishing. Phaeton died in the waves of the river. Phaethon's sisters grieved immeasurably, and the Sun did not shine that day. The gods took pity on the grief of the sisters and turned them into slender, sacred trees for the Greeks - poplars. Poplar is used in forestry to obtain cheap timber (by 20 years per 1 ha of poplar can give such an increase in wood that oak and pine plantations give only by 100 years), in agroforestry for afforestation of steppe regions, strengthening ravines, banks, plantings along roads and reservoirs and for landscaping settlements.
At present, black poplar is widespread in almost all cities of the European part of Russia. Black poplar is the fastest growing tree species in the temperate zone. It is widely used to create protective landings around industrial areas, along transport and railway lines, along rivers and canals. Sticky poplar leaves are excellent orderlies. They purify the air from dust, soot, as well as from various substances that pollute the atmosphere. The green crown of each tree holds tens of kilograms of dust. These trees enrich the air of the city with oxygen, releasing it in greater quantities than our other green friends. All this indisputably testifies that poplars should decorate the streets, squares and parks of our cities. However, there is also a negative side - it is poplar fluff that annoys people, causing allergies and asthma attacks.
Sometimes poplar fluff is the cause of fires.
Poplar fluff
So that poplar fluff does not cause harm, it is necessary to skillfully plant these trees. The fact is that black poplar is a wind-pollinated and strictly dioecious breed, that is, it has male and female specimens. Down producers are female trees only. After flowering and little visible pollen escape, the catkins on the male trees soon fall off, and the catkins of the female trees begin to develop fruits that ripen a month or two after flowering. The pod fruits contain many small seeds with tufts of white silky fine hairs that are carried by the wind after the pods open. This is poplar fluff. After the seeds take off, many catkins also fall, which also litter the streets.
Therefore, for landscaping cities, only male specimens should be planted, and then there will be no poplar blizzard. Now, unfortunately, female poplars predominate in many cities. This is a big mistake, which sometimes out of ignorance, but more often out of negligence, is made by employees of landscaping trusts. It would be right if the nurseries involved in the reproduction and cultivation of poplars for urban greening created mother plantations only from male poplars. 
Determining the gender of a tree is easy. At the end of winter, they take a flower bud from a branch, break it in half or separate only the upper part of the bud and look at the break under a magnifying glass with a tenfold increase. In male trees, the perianths are filled, like grains of caviar, with underdeveloped anthers, yellowish (in winter) or purple (in early spring). Female flowers do not have such grains of caviar. Under a magnifying glass on the perianth, an ovary with a rudiment of a stigma is visible. In different types of poplars, it is whitish-yellow or greenish-yellow.
There is also a way to prevent the appearance of fluff on female poplars. At the end of winter or early spring, branches should be cut, although this operation is very laborious. It is imperative to remove the growth of the previous year, on which the flower buds are laid.
The assortment of poplars used in urban landscaping is, unfortunately, too poor. It is usually limited to wild types of poplars - balsam, Chinese, white, Canadian and some others. Meanwhile, forest breeders, through hybridization, have received many new forms of beautiful and fast-growing poplars.
Everyone is familiar with the beautiful silvery pyramidal tree that adorns the southern cities. This is a green Turkestan poplar, or Bolle poplar. It is represented in nature only by male plants, which means it does not produce fluff. However, this poplar is very thermophilic and grows poorly north of Kharkov. In the central regions, winter-hardy white poplar grows well, but it is less decorative. By crossing white poplar with Bolle poplar, breeders have bred new poplar hybrids that inherited a beautiful pyramidal shape from Bolle poplar, and winter hardiness from white poplar.
Many other hybrids have been bred that are suitable for landscaping cities in various climatic zones: Sverdlovsk poplar - for the Urals, Kursk - for the forest-steppe regions of the country, Kamyshinsky - for the steppe. For landscaping cities located south of Orel, such very decorative hybrid poplar varieties as Robusta, Bahelieri, Vernirubens are recommended. All of them should rightfully take their rightful place in the green attire of the streets, squares and parks of our cities.
Poplar fluff - poplar seeds
The well-known "poplar fluff" is the seeds of poplars along with hairs, thanks to which the seeds are easily dispersed by the wind. You can collect poplar seeds from the ground (in those places where noticeable lumps of poplar fluff collect due to the wind), or you can directly from the trees - at a time when the seed boxes begin to open and the seeds begin to scatter.
The collected seeds remain viable for a very short time - from several days to several weeks. Therefore, it is best to sow them almost immediately. To do this, you need to prepare a small bed (preferably in the area most thoroughly cleared of weeds), level its surface with a rake, and then spread the collected clumps of fluff with seeds on the leveled surface (either evenly over the entire surface of the bed, or in rows). After that, pour the decomposed fluff with water from a watering can - as a result, the hairs on the seeds will stick together, and the seeds will be right on the ground. Do not cover the seeds with earth - let them remain right on the surface.
Water them regularly, so that the surface of the earth is wet all the time; you can also cover it with some covering material (for example, polyethylene) for the first two or three days. In a few days shoots will appear. When seedlings reach a height of 5-6 cm, they must be thinned out so that the distance between plants is 5-10 cm (otherwise thickened seedlings will interfere with each other's growth). By autumn, you will receive poplar seedlings suitable for planting in a permanent place.
The use of black poplar in medicine
The leaves and buds are used for medicinal purposes. The kidneys contain a lot of essential oils, tannins, coloring and resinous substances, vitamin C. They are collected in early spring, at the beginning of the flowering of the tree, dried in a well-ventilated room, or in dryers at a temperature of 25-30 ° C.Medicinal properties of black poplar
Poplar preparations have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, wound healing, antiulcer, astringent, sedative, antipyretic, diaphoretic, antipruritic, antimicrobial and antiviral properties. With the presence of essential oil, such properties of the kidneys as expectorant and regulating the activity of the gastrointestinal tract are associated.poplar bark
A decoction of the bark is taken orally - as an antimalarial, hemostatic; in intermittent fever, gout, rheumatism and sciatica.poplar buds
Alcoholic infusion and poplar extract are taken orally - for malignant tumors (together with other plants), tuberculosis, rheumatism, gout, scurvy, sciatica, intermittent fever, cystitis and other diseases of the bladder, spermatorrhea, dysmenorrhea, diarrhea, colds; as a hemostatic, sedative, expectorant. A resinous balm is extracted from the kidneys, and “poplar ointment” is prepared from the extracts for external use as a disinfectant, antipyretic, distracting, emollient for gout, rheumatism, joint disease, trichomonas colpitis, staphylococcal and fungal skin diseases, boils, wounds, burns, ulcers , hemorrhoids, fissures of the nipples of the breast, alopecia.poplar leaves
The juice of fresh leaves is used - for toothache and for soothing baths.Healing recipes with poplar
A tincture is prepared from black poplar buds (1:5). Take it inside 15-20 drops 3 times a day as an analgesic, astringent and disinfectant for burns, gout, rheumatism, cystitis, hemorrhoids, cancer and other diseases. To prepare the ointment, you need to take the powder from the kidneys and mix it with the fat base in a ratio of 1: 4.Poplar buds can be boiled in vegetable oil in a ratio (1:10) and the resulting oil can be used 1 teaspoon 3 times a day with meals as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent for urolithiasis.
To prepare the ointment, take 3 tbsp. spoons of kidneys, grind them well, gradually mix with three tbsp. tablespoons of the fatty base and used for diseases of the joints, gout, boils, purulent wounds, burns, staphylococcal and fungal skin diseases, cracked lips, nipples, trichomonas colpitis.
Infusion of buds and leaves is prepared at the rate of 2 tbsp. spoons for 250 ml of boiling water (they are poured in a thermos and infused for 3-6 hours), drink it 1-2 tbsp. spoons 3-4 times a day with meals. The broth is prepared in the same ratio. Boil raw materials for 10-12 minutes, insist 1-2 hours and take 1-2 tbsp. spoons 3-4 times a day.
Young poplar leaves can be used to make baths.
Infusion of black poplar buds: 1 tablespoon of raw materials is poured into 100 ml of boiling water and left in a sealed container for 4-6 hours, then filtered. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.
Black poplar bud ointment: rub 1 tablespoon of dry crushed buds with 1 tablespoon of lanolin or 1 tablespoon of butter.
poplar wood
Poplar wood is moderately soft, light, fairly light, fragile (especially low impact resistance). It is used mainly for the manufacture of boxes and packing cages, containers and cooperage products, interior parts of furniture, wooden utensils, troughs, tubs for packing oil and other food products, stuffing shavings and matches; for the manufacture of sleepers, plywood, joinery and turning products. In addition, it goes to obtain cellulose, paper and rayon (viscose). In ancient times, shields were made from it. Floats for fishing gear are made from old trees. Caps of trunks - a finishing material for furniture and handicrafts.
The bark and leaves are used for tanning leather, for dyeing leather yellow, for fabrics yellow, chestnut, chocolate and brown.
The use of poplar in other areas
Poplar essential oil (from the buds) is suitable for soap fragrance and as a fixative. The kidneys stain tissues yellow. Seed hairs are suitable as one of the components in the manufacture of felt and for papermaking. Apple and pear fruits treated with phytoncides from black poplar leaves are more resistant to diseases both during the growing season and during storage.In the perfume industry, they are used to perfume toilet soap. Poplar buds are part of the Riga balsam. Fresh and dried leaves are good food for cows and horses.
Poplar is a wonderful honey plant. Glue from the kidneys of bees is used in the production of propolis.
The "fluff" of poplars is their seeds, covered with fine silky hairs. Due to the hairs, the seeds can soar in the air for a long time and spread far. (Distribution of seeds is one of the most important tasks of plants.)
Why are poplars pruned?
1) To reduce the amount of fluff: after pruning, poplar restores damage for about five years and does not produce seeds (does not “fluff”).
2) To prevent breaking off: poplar is a rather fragile tree, and besides, its trunk is easily affected by fungi and rots. If you let it grow to a large size, then large branches will break off and fall right on the heads of the astonished citizens.
Why are fluffy poplars planted in cities, and not chestnuts or pines?
1) Poplar grows very fast. (Including due to the fact that he does not spend resources on protection against fungi and other pests, but lets everything grow.) The chestnut is still a bush, a potential victim of any city pig, but the poplar has already grown.
2) Poplar is relatively resistant to the harmful effects of the city. Polluted air, no mushrooms, little oxygen and water in the soil - the pine tree certainly will not tolerate such disgrace, but the poplar is normal.
3) Large sticky poplar leaves trap an extremely large amount of dust.
What if you plant in the city
only male poplars?
Poplars are dioecious plants: there are male poplars and female poplars. Seeds, of course, are formed only on girls, therefore, theoretically, only boys can be planted in the city and there will be no poplar fluff.
The problem is that poplar boys can change sex: under the influence of poor living conditions and pruning, they turn into girls.
Is it possible to create good living conditions for boys in the city? - Funny, next question. - Well, can you at least cut them off? - Based on their poplar fragility - no, you can not. In addition, during the time favorable for pruning (autumn), it is difficult to distinguish boys from girls.
Are there varieties of non-fluffy poplars?
There are. With the current level of selection, you can bring out anything at all.
What is pushing so hard now was planted 50 years ago.
How can poplar fluff cause allergies?
Theoretically, no way. The allergen must get inside the body, and then our immune system will fall on it with all the dope. How poplar fluff can get inside the body - I can't imagine.
In 2010, winter showed its sharp temper with frosts and February snowfalls, the beginning of spring - a sharp lack of water, and summer began earlier than usual by at least 2 weeks. An abnormally warm April gave rise to the rapid development of greenery - already now, in the first decade of June, ovaries hang on apple and pear trees, the size of which corresponds to the fruits of mid-late June, at the same time this year lilacs, bird cherry, mountain ash bloomed, and the leaves on birch trees turned into Moscow in the last ten days of April. And, of course, the poplar made itself known, and how it gave!
According to long-term observations of the development of poplars, it has been established that the flight of down begins in early June and lasts about 2 weeks - but this happens under normal, not abnormal climatic conditions. Take a look - outside the window a downy blizzard sweeps out the sun glare, city greenery, cracked streets ... and this disgrace began in mid-May !! The lawns are covered with a white blanket, fluff rises from under your feet with every step, rushes in the air, does not allow you to breathe ...
True, according to experts, such a picture was already observed in the 70s. But that doesn't make it any easier for us. Let's see why many of us are hostile to poplar fluff and, in general, to poplar itself.
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Why did they start planting poplars in cities?
Poplars have been used in urban landscaping since 1946. After the Great Patriotic War, it was necessary to restore the appearance of Moscow as quickly as possible and replace the lost trees. It should be noted that earlier in landscaping to create parks, gardens, shady areas, hedges and protective strips, coniferous and deciduous trees were used - spruce, pine, larch, birch, bird cherry, apple tree, maple, ash, elm, oak, as well as shrubs - lilac, hawthorn, mock orange, acacia, vesicle and some other species, and poplar was not involved for these purposes.
The lost mature trees had to be urgently replaced with something. Dendrologists suggested that it is characterized by rapid growth, dense crown, ease of reproduction, resistance to urban conditions, decorative appearance, occupies a smaller area than other trees, due to the compactness of the crown, and is relatively cheap. The proposal was considered, the landscaping program was approved by Stalin, and poplars came to Moscow and began their victorious march across the country. And, by the way, they did their job perfectly. But…
Mistake or thoughtlessness?
As a result, the inhabitants of the whole country are doomed to eternal "downy" flour. Why did this happen? And - the eternal question - Who is to blame?
Did the scientists make the wrong choice? The answer is no, they weren't wrong. So what's the point then?
Poplar is a dioecious plant, that is, it has male and female trees. Males bloom, giving pollen, pollinating females, and females already produce seeds equipped with downy bats - hated down.
Reasonable question - Was it really impossible to plant only male specimens?
Well, that's exactly what was done! Only male plants were planted - and this was a fatal combination of circumstances. You can't deceive nature, and this is perfectly shown by the example of poplars. It is known that plants, some animals and insects in certain situations, adapting to living conditions, are able to change sex. After all, the trees had to multiply, so they found a way out. To everyone's dismay and displeasure, botanists, dendrologists, and other industry experts have observed the appearance of female catkins on male poplars, on branches next to male flowers.
By the way, I should clarify. Poplar fluff is not flowers, but poplar seeds. The poplar blossoms even before the leaves appear, its male catkins appear immediately after the buds burst.
So does down cause allergies or not?
Allergists in unison refute all attacks on poplar, arguing that poplar fluff does not cause allergies, but it can provoke. The fluff summer period coincides with the flowering period of cereal grasses, birch, linden and other plants, the pollen of which causes very unpleasant and even life-threatening allergic reactions in sensitive people. And fluff is a carrier of pollen, various pathogens, man-made pollutants.
Fluff itself is also unpleasant, being a purely mechanical irritant - in the heat it sticks to the body, tickles, climbs into the nose, into the ears, under the glasses. Agree, it's not pleasant.
In addition, even without fluff, life in the city is full of troubles.
People suffering from pollinosis - a reaction to pollen, can be advised not to leave the house without a gauze bandage, do not keep the windows and balcony doors open for a long time, use allergy medications prescribed by a doctor, and in no case self-medicate with herbal infusions and decoctions - this can be done instead relief sharply worsen their condition.
But the harmfulness of fluff is not only in this. It penetrates the premises, accumulating in the corners in lush snowdrifts and heaps, adding to the hassle of cleaning. The fluffs themselves are dry, volatile, weightless, very flammable. Fluff is a flammable agent, one unextinguished cigarette butt not thrown into the urn can lead to a fire. Yes, and children often have fun throwing lighted matches into the fluff.
How to correct the situation?
The only way, in my opinion, to radically change the situation is to replace Poplar balsam and other non-fruiting poplar species, for example, Berlin poplar, within a few years. True, public utilities do not want to hear about this, referring to the excessive cost of the event and the lack of funds. Choosing the right culture to replace is, of course, not an easy task. How not to get burned again. But it is necessary to do this, otherwise the torment will continue further.
It is possible and necessary to carry out competent pruning of poplars, forming them “from a young age” into a tree with several skeletal branches, and not into one bare trunk with thin branches, as is now done with mature, 50-60-year-old trees.
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