Did you know one of Britain’s rarest trees resides in one of our nature reserves?
Black poplars were once a commonly used timber tree, its wood coveted for its fire resistance, and shock resistant timber. Historically, it was used to make wagons and floorboards but it fell out of fashion in the 19th century when straighter, faster growing timber was introduced from abroad. Female black poplar trees were also specifically targeted for felling because of their fluffy, cotton-wool like seeds, which landowners, residents and farmers considered a messy nuisance.
Black poplars are fast growing trees and as they get older often develop a characteristic lean to their trunk. The wild black poplar has a triangular leaf which has a temporary covering of fine hair, this disappears by the end of the summer, so if you see a tree with deeply fissured bark and a heavy lean and fine hairy leaves you might be lucky enough to be in the presence of one of the rarest trees in the UK.
There are fewer than 7000 black poplars left in the UK and only 600 of those are female! In order to reproduce and create more seeds, male and female trees need to be growing close together but due to their declining number they’re often found in isolation. The trees’ natural reproduction in the UK is now virtually impossible.
Black poplars grow in wet conditions on flood plains, and alongside ditches. Habitat loss has contributed greatly to their decline in number. Our very wet Glascoed reserve supports two of these trees, both are male. Efforts are being made by various conservation organisations to map and propagate trees, and we hope that one day we’ll be able to add a female tree to our reserve!
With their distinctive silhouette they were featured heavily in the background of many landscape paintings, possibly the most famous painting being ‘The Hay Wain’ by John Constable, along with some English elm trees, which are also now extremely rare in the landscape.