The Mystery Tree

Poplar bark

We have tried to find the scientific name of what we, and folks here, call the poplar tree. However, we keep getting the Eastern Cottonwood scientific name returned. We are trying to find the correct common and scientific names for this tree, but we've only known it as poplar. The root is very distinctive. It is a tree that fills up bare spots in the woods and woods edge very quickly. The tree grows tall and then falls down. The wood is not that good.

What is distinctive about the poplar (or pople) tree is that the root was used as a cane. You can see John using it as a cane in the photo below. People would carve these and make them nice and sell them. The root grew at a nearly 90° angle from the tree (which is why they fall down so much). We are clearing as much poplar as possible from the woods to make room for the maples, birch, elms, beech, hornbeam and other hardwoods.

Root of poplar tree

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