poplar

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poplar

balsam poplar (Wendy Smith)

n.

1. 1. Any of several fast-growing deciduous trees of the genus Populus having unisexual flowers borne in catkins.
   2. The wood of these trees.
2. See tulip tree (sense 1).

[Middle English popler, from Old French poplier, from pouple, from Latin pōpulus.]

Any tree of the genus Populus, family Salicaceae, marked by simple, alternate leaves which are usually broader than those of the willow, the other American representative of this family. Poplars have scaly buds, bitter bark, flowers and fruit in catkins, and a five-angled pith. See also Salicales; Willow.

Some species are commonly called cottonwood because of the cottony hairs attached to the seeds. Other species, called aspens, have weak, flattened leaf stalks which cause the leaves to flutter in the slightest breeze. One of the important species in the United States is the quaking, or trembling, aspen (P. tremuloides). The soft wood of this species is used for paper pulp. The European aspen (P. nigra), which is similar to the quaking aspen, is sometimes planted, and its variety, italica, the Lombardy poplar of erect columnar habit, is used in landscape planting. The black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa) is the largest American poplar and is also the largest broad-leaved tree in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The cottonwood or necklace poplar (P. deltoides) is native in the eastern half of the United States. In the balsam or tacamahac poplar (P. balsamifera), the resin is used in medicine as an expectorant. The wood is used for veneer, boxes, crates, furniture, paper pulp, and excelsior.

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For more information on poplar, visit Britannica.com.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: soft light-colored nondurable wood of the poplar

Meaning #2: any of numerous trees of north temperate regions having light soft wood and flowers borne in catkins
  Synonym: poplar tree

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - administrerende enhed indenfor Stor-London

Nederlands (Dutch)
populier, populierhout

Français (French)
n. - peuplier

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pappel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) λεύκα

Italiano (Italian)
pioppo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - choupo (m), álamo (m)

Русский (Russian)
тополь

Español (Spanish)
n. - álamo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - poppel

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
白杨, 白杨木

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 白楊, 白楊木

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 포플러(백양나무)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ポプラ

idioms:

• trembling poplar    ヨーロッパヤマナラシ, アメリカヤマナラシ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الحور, خشب الحور‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צפצפה (עץ-נוי)‬

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