Poplar trembling (aspen): description, photo

This tree is widespread all over the world. Poplar trembling (aspen) is found everywhere. And nevertheless this powerful beautiful tree did not become a favorite of landscapers and gardeners. Even his rapid growth is considered by few as dignity.

The reason for such a negative attitude to the tree is poplar fluff, which gives people many problems. Today we will represent poplar trembling (genus poplar). This is one of the representatives of a large family, which includes about 90 species. They are all divided into six sections.

1. Abaso (Mexican poplar): poplar Mexican.

2. Aigeiros (deltoid poplars):

• Sedge (black poplar);
• deltoid;
• pyramidal;
• Bolle.

3. Leucoides (lefkoid poplars):

• Variegated;
• White (or silver);
• Trembling (or aspen).

4. Tacamahaca (balsamic poplar):

• Balsamic;
• Bayberry;
• Poplar Maximovich.

5. Turanga: the turanga is Euphrates.

6. Hybrids:

• Berlin;
• Moscow;
• Canadian.

Poplar quivering: description

This dioecious deciduous tree with a powerful, perfectly developed root system. Poplar trembling (Latin - Pópulus trémula) grows to 35 meters in height and lives up to 90 years. The young plant has a gray-green bark, smooth. Over time, it darkens and becomes covered with small cracks. The branches are long, with small, sticky, pointed kidneys.

Leaves

Poplar trembling (the family of willow trees) densely covered with alternate, rounded, long-petioled leaves with pinnate venation. Their length is from 3 to 7 cm, the upper surface is green, the bottom is bluish, and irregular large teeth are located along the rim.

In autumn the leaves become bright yellow or reddish-brown. Note the poplar trembling (aspen). Even in a perfectly calm, windless weather, its leaves are constantly in motion, trembling. This mobility is explained by flattened petioles, thinner in the center than at the edges.

Bloom

Poplar trembling (photo you can see in the article) blooms in the last decade of April or early May (depending on the region of growth). The tree is covered with earrings: massive male (staminate), up to 15 cm long and thinner, smaller, pistillate female. Flowers of both types are arranged simply. They have no perianth. In male flowers, there are 5-8 stamens and red anthers, while female flowers have only a pestle with two stigmas. Flowering continues until the leaves are completely blossomed.

Fruit

Ripening occurs about thirty days after flowering. They are disclosed in early June. These are bivalves with a large number of small seeds, which are equipped with fluffy bundles of hairs. A thousand poplar seeds weigh a tenth of a gram. They easily fly over long distances.

Root system

Poplar trembling is a tree with a powerful root system. The scattered seeds begin to germinate in a few hours, falling on moist soil. The seminal membrane bursts, two tiny cotyledons appear. About a day later, a seed appears on the seed.

By autumn the plant is a small stalk (not more than a pencil) and a root root, the length of which reaches 30 cm. It should be noted that poplar trembling (aspen) grows very quickly, especially in the early years. By the age of 20, the tree grows to 10 meters, and by the age of 40 its height has reached its maximum dimensions.

In the first years the poplar has a more pronounced core root. Over time, it slows growth and soon ceases to grow. During this period the lateral processes begin to grow actively. They lie shallow, in the upper layer of the soil, from the mother plant, they go far enough and give abundant growth. Shoots grow rapidly - in the first year they already reach a height of 50 cm.

Spread

Poplar tremor is widespread. Its range is Eurasia, the mountainous regions of North Africa. Most of the area is in the territory of our country. In Russia, aspen is widespread almost everywhere. In the north, it grows up to the borders of the forest with the tundra, in the south - to the arid steppes.

In the forest-steppe poplar, trembling forms island groves. On saline soils can take a bushy shape. In the Alps it grows in the mountains, at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. The tree is photophilous, therefore, if other trees obscure the poplar, it dies. Often aspen becomes an admixture in birch forests.

Growth conditions

Poplar tremor is unpretentious to soils and climatic conditions. Nevertheless, it is more actively developed on fertile, mineral-rich, well aerated soils.

The use of poplar

A fast-growing tree with a beautiful ornamental crown is used in landscape design. Virtually all of its numerous varieties are excellent for single landings, and for group. Everyone knows that poplar alleys are a classic of park landscapes.

Poplar shaking is a real air filter, which has found application in urban landscaping, and also as a forest-forming species. Its wood is used in many industries - in the furniture, paper and construction industries.

Fine natural dyes are made from leaves and poplar inflorescences. Kidneys are used in folk medicine. Aspen wood is light, soft, but not very durable. Therefore, most often it goes to the production of household items (shovels, buckets, spoons, other hollowed dishes). It produces plywood and chips (shingles), which is used in roofing production. In low-forest areas, poplar wood is used as a building material for erection of farm buildings.

But we can not say that it is easily affected by fungi that cause rotting, so it is not recommended to use such material for building residential houses.

Wide use of aspen wood found in the production of matches. What did the poplar bring to the producers of much-needed products? In this case, its main advantage was taken into account - the lack of tannins and resins in the wood, which give a smell when burning. In addition, it is very light, fine, without soot burns in a dry state. The producers of matches also appreciated the fact that poplar wood is split in the right direction.

Aspen bark has a bitter taste, but this does not prevent it from being used as feed for game animals. With pleasure they gnaw the bark from young elk trees. Hares prefer to clean it from fallen trunks.

During flowering bees collect pollen and resinous liquid from the buds, turning it into propolis.

Diseases and pests

The most common diseases of poplar trembling are certain types of necrosis and arthritic cancer. In this case, the affected trees must be eliminated, and the remaining stumps should be treated with mazut with creosol.

Young seedlings of poplar are sometimes subjected to fungal diseases. Forestry and agrotechnical measures are used against them, and they try to reduce the moisture of the soil. Pests of poplar are a large number of insects, which lay the larvae on the leaves. Insecticides are used in the fight against pests. But before choosing the necessary drug, it is necessary to find out which pest was attacked by the tree.

Therapeutic properties and application

In traditional medicine poplar trembling (aspen) has not yet found application. And in folk medicine it has been used for a long time and very successfully. For the manufacture of medicinal preparations, folk healers use bark, leaves, and kidneys.

Perhaps not everyone knows that in paganism, aspen was considered a tree full of vitality - its leaves always rustle, as if they are conducting a leisurely conversation. Therefore, this tree was considered a salvation from all evil spirits. Thanks to numerous horror films and our contemporaries it became known that it is necessary to fight with vampires using aspen stake.

Traditional healers claim that preparations based on aspen (poplar trembling) have analgesic, diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. The kidneys and bark of the tree contain bitter glycosides, tannins, benzoic acid. The alcohol extract from the poplar buds has a bactericidal effect on certain types of dangerous microbes (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus). Kidneys are usually harvested in the spring, they are harvested from young trees.

Infusion of the kidneys

Kidney aspen can be insisted on vodka, but it is better to use 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1:10. The infusion is prepared for seven days. This tincture is recommended for use in chronic and acute cystitis, with rheumatism and padagra. Dilute 25-30 drops of the drug in a third of a glass of water and take three times a day after meals.

Broths

Broth greenish young bark, according to the doctors and reviews of their patients, favorably affects the inflamed bladder and kidneys. To make it simple: spoon (table) of dry crushed bark pour 250 ml of water and boil the resulting mixture for fifteen minutes on low heat under the lid. Take two tablespoons (table) three times a day (before eating).

When you cough, cold, another composition is used as a diuretic and diaphoretic. Pour one spoonful of dry bark with two glasses of water and boil for half an hour. Allow the product to infuse for at least three hours.

Decoction of leaves

A very effective vitamin decoction is made from aspen leaves. To do this, you need one part of the dry shredded leaves, which must be filled with four parts of boiling water. The mixture is brought to a boil and left on low heat for fifteen minutes. Then it must be cooled, add a few drops of lemon and take on a tablespoon four times a day.

It is necessary to know that the decoction of the leaves collected in the autumn contains almost twice less vitamin C than from spring and even summer foliage.

Bark tincture

People's doctors of different countries recommend that patients suffering from hypertrophy of the prostate should take alcoholic tincture. Pour five tablespoons of dry bark with 0.5 liters of vodka and put for two weeks to insist in a dark place. An important detail - a young bark should be harvested in early spring, when it still has a greenish color.

Take such a composition on a dessert spoon twice a day, before eating. So you can insist on the kidneys. Tincture from them take twenty drops three times a day.

Ointments

Poplar buds are also prepared with medicinal ointments that help nursing mothers get rid of cracks in the nipples. To do this, it is necessary to mix one part of the kidneys with two parts of pork fat, grind well and cook on low heat, stirring until all the moisture comes out of the mass. The same ointment gives excellent results in the treatment of hemorrhoids.

Powdered dried poplar buds mixed with high-quality butter are an excellent wound-healing and anti-inflammatory agent for non-healing ulcers and burns. Ointment is used to soften the hemorrhoids.