This tree is widespread throughout the world. Trembling poplar (common aspen) is found everywhere. Nevertheless, this powerful beautiful tree has not become a favorite of landscapers and gardeners. Even his rapid growth is seen by few as a virtue.
The reason for such a negative attitude towards wood is poplar fluff, which gives people a lot of problems. Today we will introduce poplar trembling (poplar genus). This is one of the representatives of a large family, which includes about 90 species. All of them are divided into six sections.
1. Abaso (Mexican poplars): Mexican poplar.
2. Aigeiros (delta poplars):
- black poplar;
- deltoid;
- pyramidal;
- bolle.
3. Leucoides (leucoid poplars):
- variegated;
- white (or silver);
- trembling (or aspen).
4. Tacamahaca (balsamic poplars):
- balsamic;
- laurel;
- poplar Maksimovich.
5. Turanga: Euphrates Turanga.
6. Hybrids:
- Berlin;
- Moscow;
- Canadian.
Poplar trembling: description
This is a dioecious deciduous tree with a powerful, well-developed root system. Trembling poplar (Latin - Pópulus trémula) grows up to 35 meters in height and lives up to 90 years. In a young plant, the bark is gray-green in color, smooth. Over time, it darkens and becomes covered with small cracks. The branches are long, with small, sticky, pointed buds.
Leaves
Trembling poplar (willow family) is densely covered with alternate, rounded, long-leaved leaves with pinnate venation. Their length is from 3 to 7 cm, the upper surface is green, bluish below, uneven large teeth are located along the edge.
In autumn, the leaves turn bright yellow or reddish-brown. Pay attention to poplar trembling (aspen). Even in completely calm windless weather, its leaves are constantly in motion, trembling. This mobility is due to flattened petioles, thinner in the center than at the edges.
Flowering
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 catkins: massive male (staminate) up to 15 cm long and thinner, small, pistillate female. Flowers of both types are arranged simply. They lack a perianth. Male flowers have 5-8 stamens and red anthers, while female flowers have only a pistil with twostigmas. Flowering continues until the full bloom of the leaves.
Fruits
Fruit ripening occurs approximately thirty days after flowering. They open in early June. These are double-winged boxes with a large number of small seeds, which are equipped with fluffy tufts of hairs. A thousand poplar seeds weigh tenths of a gram. They are easily dispersed over long distances.
Root system
Trembling poplar is a tree with a powerful root system. Scattered seeds begin to germinate in just a few hours, falling on moist soil. The seed coat bursts, two tiny cotyledons appear. After about a day, the seed appears root.
By autumn, the plant is a small stalk (no more than a pencil) and a tap 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 up to 10 meters, and by the age of 40, its height reaches its limit.
In the early years, the poplar has a more pronounced taproot. Over time, it slows down growth and soon stops growing altogether. During this period, lateral processes begin to actively grow. They lie shallow, in the upper layer of the soil, depart quite far from the mother plant and give abundant shoots. Shoots grow rapidly - in the first year they already reach a height of 50 cm.
Distribution
Quivering poplar is quite commonwide. Its range is Eurasia, the mountainous regions of North Africa. Most of the range falls on the territory of our country. In Russia, aspen is distributed 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, the quivering poplar forms island groves. On saline soils, it can take a bushy form. In the Alps, it grows in the mountains, at an altitude of up to 2000 meters above sea level. The tree is photophilous, therefore, if other trees shade the poplar, it dies. Aspen often becomes an admixture in birch forests.
Growing conditions
Trembling poplar is undemanding to soils and climatic conditions. However, it develops more actively in fertile, mineral-rich, well-aerated soils.
Using Poplar
A fast-growing tree with a beautiful decorative crown is used in landscape design. Almost all of its numerous varieties are excellent for both single landings and group plantings. Everyone knows that poplar alleys are a classic of park landscapes.
Quilling poplar is a real air filter that has found application in urban landscaping, as well as a forest-forming species. Its wood is used in many industries - in the furniture, paper industry, construction.
Excellent natural dyes are made from poplar leaves and inflorescences. The kidneys are used in folk medicine. Aspen wood is light, soft, but not very durable. Therefore, most often it goes to the manufacture of itemshousehold purposes (shovels, ladles, spoons, other dugout utensils). Plywood and chips (shingles) are made from it, which is used in roofing. In sparsely forested areas, poplar wood is used as a building material for the construction of outbuildings.
But it cannot be said that it is easily affected by fungi that cause decay, so it is not recommended to use such material for the construction of residential buildings.
Aspen wood is widely used in the production of matches. How did poplar attract manufacturers of such necessary products? In this case, its main advantage was taken into account - the absence of tannins and resins in the wood, which give off a smell when burned. In addition, it is very light, perfectly, without soot, it burns in a dry state. Match makers also appreciated that poplar wood splits in the right direction.
Aspen bark has a bitter taste, but this does not prevent its use as feed for game animals. With pleasure, moose gnaw at the bark from young trees. Hares prefer to clean it from fallen trunks.
During flowering, bees collect pollen and resinous bud fluid from flowers, turning it into propolis.
Diseases and pests
The most common diseases of trembling poplar are some types of necrosis and tree cancer. In this case, the affected trees must be eliminated, and the remaining stumps should be treated with fuel oil with creosol.
Young poplar seedlings are sometimes exposed to fungaldiseases. Forestry and agrotechnical measures are used against them, they try to reduce soil moisture. Poplar pests are a large number of insects that lay their larvae on the leaves. Insecticides are used in pest control. But before choosing the necessary drug, you need to find out which pest attacked the tree.
Healing properties and uses
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, traditional healers use the bark, leaves, kidneys.
Perhaps not everyone knows that in paganism the aspen was considered a tree overflowing with vitality - its leaves always rustle, as if they were having a leisurely conversation. That is why this tree began to be considered a salvation from all evil spirits. Thanks to numerous horror films and our contemporaries, it became known that it was necessary to fight vampires with the help of a wasp stake.
Traditional healers claim that preparations based on aspen (trembling poplar) have analgesic, diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. The buds and bark of the tree contain bitter glycosides, tannins, and benzoic acid. Alcohol extract from poplar buds has a bactericidal effect on some types of dangerous microbes (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus). The buds are usually harvested in the spring, harvested from young trees.
Infusion of kidneys
Aspen buds can be infusedvodka, 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, rheumatism and padagra. Dilute 25-30 drops of the product in a third of a glass of water and take three times a day after meals.
Decoctions
A decoction of greenish young bark, according to doctors and reviews of their patients, has a beneficial effect on the inflamed bladder and kidneys. It is not difficult to make it: pour 250 ml of water into a spoon (tablespoon) of dry crushed bark and boil the resulting mixture for fifteen minutes over low heat under a lid. Take two tablespoons (tablespoons) three times a day (before meals).
When coughing, colds, a different 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. Let the product stand for at least three hours.
Decoction of leaves
Very effective vitamin decoction is prepared from aspen leaves. To do this, you will need one part of dry crushed leaves, which must be poured 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 a tablespoon four times a day.
You need to know that a decoction of leaves harvested in autumn contains almost half as much vitamin C as spring and even summer foliage.
Bark tincture
Folk doctors from different countries recommend that patients suffering from prostate hypertrophy take alcohol tincture. Pour five tablespoons of dry bark with 0.5 liters of vodka and leave to infuse for two weeks in a dark place. An important detail is that the young bark should be harvested in early spring when it is still greenish in color.
Take this composition in a dessert spoon twice a day, before meals. Thus it is possible to insist and kidneys. A tincture of them is taken twenty drops three times a day.
Ointments
Healing ointments are also prepared from poplar buds, which help nursing mothers get rid of cracked nipples. To do this, you need to mix one part of the kidneys with two parts of pork fat, grind well and cook over low heat, stirring until all the moisture comes out of the mass. The same ointment gives excellent results in the treatment of hemorrhoidal bumps.
Powdered dried poplar buds, mixed with quality butter, is an excellent wound healing and anti-inflammatory agent for non-healing ulcers and burns. The ointment is also used to soften hemorrhoids.
