Populus ciliata

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Populus ciliata
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Salicaceae
Genus: Populus
Section: Populus sect. Tacamahaca
Species:
P. ciliata
Binomial name
Populus ciliata
Wall. ex Royle

Populus ciliata, the Himalayan poplar, is a large deciduous tree with tall clean straight trunk and wide rounded crown. [2] The bark of the young trees is smooth and greenish-grey while the bark of the old trees is dark brown with vertical cracks. Leaves are broadly ovate with hairy serrulate-crenate margins. [2] Flowers are drooping raceme catkins that appear before or with leaves. [2] Populus ciliata flowers are dioecious. Male flowers have a bell-shaped perianth and female flowers are bluntly toothed. A single capsule encloses an average of 100–150 seeds, which are covered by long silky hair. [2]

Contents

Ecology and distribution

Geographical distribution

Populus ciliata is natively distributed along the Himalayas through China, Pakistan, India (Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh), Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. [1] [3] Populus ciliata is exotic to Afghanistan, France, Iran, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. [2]

Natural habitat

Populus ciliata prefers moist cool places and grows in sandy, loamy, and clay soil. [2] It grows well in acidic or neutral soil conditions. [2] Shade inhibits the growth of P. ciliata. [2]

Reproductive biology

Populus ciliata is a dioecious tree pollinated by the wind. [2] The fruits grow in about 3 months after pollination. [2] Seed dispersal takes place from about the middle of June to the middle of July depending upon the climate. [2] It can reproduce through seed and vegetative means. [4]

Propagation

The seeds weigh about 15 million/kg. [2] In spring, seeds disperse as soon as they mature due to an extremely short period of viability of a few days after maturation. [4] Fresh seeds exhibit high viability with a germination rate of up to 75–90%. [2]

Uses

Food

Populus ciliata is chopped for food and stored to be fed to livestock during times of food shortage. [2]

Fuel

Populus ciliata is used as fuel wood. [2]

Timber

Populus ciliata wood is used for making boxes for packing purposes, as well as for poles, trucks, barrow-trays, coaches, furniture and cross-beams. [2]

Medicine

The bark is used to make tonics, stimulants and blood purifiers. The paste of the bark, when mixed with the ash of cow dung, can be used to treat muscular swellings. [2]

Other

Populus ciliata provides paper for writing, wrapping and printing. [2]

Erosion control

This tree can be used to control erosion as it easily establishes in shallow soils, exhibits a fast growth rate, and produces numerous strong lateral roots with little taper. [2] Hence, it has been used extensively in China, Japan, the USA and New Zealand to bind soil in erosion-prone areas. [2]

Pests and diseases

During rainy season, the leaves of the tree are extensively colonized by leaf defoliators such as Pyragea cupreata and P. fulgurita . [2] In India, records show that this tree has been a victim of the plant parasite Loranthus elatus . [2] Other pathogens that cause premature defoliation in this species include Bipolaris mydis , Pseudocercospora salicia and Phorma macrostoma . [2] Incidents of ganoderma root rot have also been reported in this species. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Populus</i> Genus of plants

Populus is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar, aspen, and cottonwood.

<i>Populus <span style="font-style:normal;">sect.</span> Aigeiros</i> Section of plants in the genus Populus

Populus section Aigeiros is a section of three species in the genus Populus, the poplars. Like some other species in the genus Populus, they are commonly known as cottonwoods. The species are native to North America, Europe, and western Asia. In the past, as many as six species were recognized, but recent trends have been to accept just three species, treating the others as subspecies of P. deltoides.

<i>Alnus glutinosa</i> Species of flowering plant in the birch family Betulaceae

Alnus glutinosa, the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations where its association with the bacterium Frankia alni enables it to grow in poor quality soils. It is a medium-sized, short-lived tree growing to a height of up to 30 metres (98 feet). It has short-stalked rounded leaves and separate male and female flowers in the form of catkins. The small, rounded fruits are cone-like and the seeds are dispersed by wind and water.

<i>Populus nigra</i> Species of plant

Populus nigra, the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section Aigeiros of the genus Populus, native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.

<i>Larix laricina</i> Species of larch native to North America

Larix laricina, commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and also south into the upper northeastern United States from Minnesota to Cranesville Swamp, West Virginia; there is also an isolated population in central Alaska.

<i>Populus alba</i> Species of plant of the genus Populus

Populus alba, commonly called silver poplar, silverleaf poplar, or white poplar, is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens. It is native to a region spanning from the Atlas Mountains of Africa, through most of South and Central Europe, into Central Asia; it has been introduced to many temperate, moist regions worldwide. It grows in moist sites, often by watersides, in regions with hot summers and cold to mild winters.

<i>Salix cinerea</i> Species of willow

Salix cinerea is a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia.

<i>Betula populifolia</i> Species of birch

Betula populifolia, known as the gray birch, is a deciduous tree in the family Betulaceae. It is native to eastern North America and is most commonly found in the northeast United States as well as southern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The tree is a pioneer species that is commonly found in sites following disturbance, such as fire or logging. Gray birches don't have as much economic value as other birch species but are still commonly used as ornamental trees.

<i>Fuchsia excorticata</i> Species of tree

Fuchsia excorticata, commonly known as tree fuchsia, New Zealand fuchsia and by its Māori name kōtukutuku, is a New Zealand native tree belonging to the family Onagraceae. It is commonly found throughout New Zealand and as far south as the Auckland Islands. It grows from sea level up to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft), particularly alongside creeks and rivers. It is easily recognised in its native environment by the characteristic appearance of its bark, which peels spontaneously, hanging in red papery strips to show a pale bark underneath. Its scientific name, excorticata, reflects this distinctive property.

<i>Populus tremuloides</i> Species of deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America

Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, trembling poplar, white poplar, and popple, as well as others. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 metres tall, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden to yellow, rarely red, in autumn. The species often propagates through its roots to form large clonal groves originating from a shared root system. These roots are not rhizomes, as new growth develops from adventitious buds on the parent root system.

<i>Populus deltoides</i> Species of tree

Populus deltoides, the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernmost part of eastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico.

<i>Populus trichocarpa</i> Species of tree

Populus trichocarpa, the black cottonwood, western balsam-poplar or California poplar, is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology.

<i>Toona ciliata</i> Species of tree

Toona ciliata is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout South Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia.

<i>Populus tremula</i> Species of plant

Populus tremula is a species of poplar native to cool temperate regions of the Old World.

<i>Milicia excelsa</i> Species of tree

Milicia excelsa is a tree species from the genus Milicia of the family Moraceae. Distributed across tropical Central Africa, it is one of two species yielding timber commonly known as ọjị, African teak, iroko, intule, kambala, moreira, mvule, odum and tule.

<i>Laurelia novae-zelandiae</i> Species of tree

Laurelia novae-zelandiae, also called pukatea, is a large evergreen tree, endemic to the forests of New Zealand. Pukatea has 'toothed' leaves and produces small flowers. It is a species in the Atherospermataceae family, typical representative of laurel forest ecoregion.

<i>Populus grandidentata</i> Species of deciduous tree native to North America

Populus grandidentata, commonly called large-tooth aspen, big-tooth aspen, American aspen, Canadian poplar, or white poplar, is a deciduous tree native to eastern North America.

<i>Plagianthus divaricatus</i> Species of shrub

Plagianthus divaricatus or saltmarsh ribbonwood is a plant that is endemic to New Zealand. The Māori name is mākaka.

<i>Populus euphratica</i> Species of tree

Populus euphratica, commonly known as the Euphrates poplar, desert poplar, diversiform-leaved poplar, or poplar diversifolia, is a species of poplar tree in the willow family.

<i>Endospermum myrmecophilum</i> Species of flowering plant

Endospermum myrmecophilum, commonly known as the whitewood, is a dioecious plant that grows in the tropical islands. It grows in tropical humid climates. The species is well known for timber.

References

  1. 1 2 Barstow, M. (2018). "Populus ciliata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T61959792A61959807. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Orwa, C; Mutua, A; Kindt, R; Jamnadass, R; Simons, A (2009). "Populus ciliata" (PDF). Agroforestree Database. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  3. "Populus ciliata". Flora of Pakistan. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. 1 2 Sheikh, MI (1992). "Populus ciliata" (PDF). Trees of Pakistan: 5–142.,

"Poplar"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 22 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 89–90.