Populus nigra L., Salicaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Other Latin names:  Populus italica (Münchh.) Moench; Populus nigra var. italica Münchh.; Populus nigra var. pyramidalis (Rozier) Spach; Populus pyramidalis Rozier; Populus thevestina Dode

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: hei yang

English: black cottonwood, black poplar, Lombardy poplar

French: peuplier noir

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees to 30 m tall; bark dull gray, furrowed when older; crown broadly ovoid. Branchlets yellowish, terete, glabrous. Buds russet, ovoid, very viscid. Petiole ca. as long as or longer than leaf blade, laterally flattened, glabrous; leaf blade rhombic, rhombic-ovoid, or deltoid, 5-10 x 4-8 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially greenish, adaxially green, base cuneate or broadly cuneate, rarely truncate, margin crenate-serrate, ciliate, apex long acuminate. Flower buds outwardly curved at apex. Male catkin 5-6 cm; rachis glabrous; bracts brownish, 3-4 mm, membranous, laciniate. Male flower: stamens 15-30; anthers purplish red. Fruiting catkin 5-10 cm. Female flower: ovary ovoid, glabrous, stipitate; stigmas 2. Capsule ovoid, 5-7 x 3-4 mm, 2-valved, stipitate"  (Flora of China online).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native):  "Along rivers"  (Flora of China online).  In New Zealand, "planted extensively throughout all settled areas; its erect, narrow habit making it especially useful as a windbreak. It often spreads from original plantings because portions of the stem are easily detached and will grow in moist ground"  (Webb et al., 1988; p. 1158).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe, northern Africa, western Asia; widely cultivated and naturalized (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011) As Populus pyramidalis Salisb.
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 556) As Populus pyramidalis Salisb.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 189) Dense suckering stands in wetlands near Perth; localised populations in Victoria.
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2011)
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Xinjiang, cultivated elsewhere
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 1158)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Fact sheet from the U.S. Forest Service (PDF format).
Fact sheet from Virginia Tech.

Additional online information about Populus nigra is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Populus nigra as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Populus nigra may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

National Herbarium of New South Wales. 2011. PlantNet: New South Wales Flora online. The Plant Information Network System of the Botanic Gardens Trust Version 2.0. Online resource.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).