Winter twig

The roundish leaves, 3.5-8 cm long, have flattened leaf stalks and margins which are coarsely and irregularly toothed. Those in clusters on short shoots 3.5-6 cm long are more or less hairless. Those alternate on long shoots, 6-8 cm long, are dark green above, but grey woolly beneath, especially when young.

ID check

Grey Poplar is a  large deciduous tree is up to 30 m tall, roundish in outline, with white bark in the top half of the trunk. It is an introduction, which flourishes in water meadows and river valleys.

Male catkins, 4-9 cm long, and female catkins, 4-6 cm long, appear on separate trees in March, well before the leaves (dioecious).

Male catkins are brown with reddish stamens, whilst the females are pinkish.

Trees often produce a large number of suckers.

Facts

• The name 'grey' reflects the colour of the underside of some leaves, which are not 'white', as in the White Poplar.

• Grey Poplar is a hybrid of which one parent is White Poplar and the other Aspen.

• It probably originated elsewhere in Europe and was introduced from Holland in about 1640