Populus nigra L. 'Italica', Lombardy-poplar

Introduced, neophyte, deliberately planted, but very much over-looked and seriously under-recorded.

1989; Northridge, R.H.; Lakeland Forum, Enniskillen.

RHN and the current author tend not to bother recording obviously planted cultivars in urban settings, but there is a row of this distinctive, narrowly columnar fastigiate tree by the lake in the centre of Enniskillen town that even we could not completely ignore. Shamefully we admit that they are the only record of this tree listed in the Fermanagh Flora Database.

Cultivars of fastigiate, upright growth forms, like the Lombardy-poplar, being of garden origin are always single sex clones (Lombardy-poplars are entirely male). Female trees of similar shape in B & I are most likely hybrids with other forms of poplar, or else they represent another fastigiate cultivar of Black Poplar from the E Mediterranean, P. nigra var. afghanica Aitch. & Hemsl. (Meikle 1984). Being a strict, columnar growth form, Lombardy-poplars typically do not sucker and therefore they fail to reproduce or naturalise themselves in the wild.

Again, as with most other members of the genus, this is not a long-lived tree. It is abundantly clear from the scanty records displayed over the whole of Ireland in the relevant New Atlas hectad map (which is a composite map aggregating records of all the fastigiate cultivars of Populus nigra), that other recorders on the island generally ignore the presence of these conspicuous landscaping trees.

Anyone wishing to learn more about the five fastigiate forms of Black Poplar is advised to start by consulting the late Alan Mitchell's excellent account (Mitchell 1996, pp. 281-5).

Populus nigra × P. deltoides (P. × canadensis Moench), Hybrid Black-poplar

Introduced, neophyte, deliberately planted, rare but very probably under-recorded.

1912; Druce, Dr G.C.; Co Fermanagh.

June to October.

Meikle (1984) comments that named cultivar clones of this variable, fast-growing hybrid (all of which are single sex, propagated from cuttings and do not sucker) are the most commonly planted poplars in B & I. The history of this hybrid and some of its most frequently recorded clones is provided in summary by Mitchell (1996) and Stace et al. (2015). Originally this hybrid was favoured over the native Black Poplar (P. nigra subsp. betulifolia) because of its faster growth and a long trunk clear of burrs, giving good timber lengths. While previously clones of this hybrid were frequently planted, they eventually fell out of favour in forestry circles due to their susceptibility to both rust fungi and canker, plus the advent of even faster growing hybrid cultivars bred in Belgium that are better suited to our climate and soils (Stace et al. 2015). Being crosses between poplars from two continents, the maintenance of rapid growth rates in Euro-American poplars depends upon a combination of hot summers and moist soil. These conditions are not often found in these islands except in low-lying parts of S England, a fact reflected in the New Atlas map (Brendell 1990; Mitchell 1996). These hybrid cultivar clones are perfectly hardy, however, and they will grow, albeit more slowly, as far north as Inverness and even on Orkney. These hybrid clones have been mainly planted as amenity trees in parkland and along linear habitats such as roadsides, railways, river-, stream- and canal-banks and in hedges. They have also been planted for screens, shelterbelts and as timber trees in plantations (Stace et al. 2015).

In Fermanagh, we have just eleven records for this hybrid in ten tetrads. Apart from Druce's original record above, for which there is no site whatsoever, all the remainder are either from the islands or the shores of Lower Lough Erne (LLE). Ignoring Druce's inadequate record, four of the others were made by Matthew Tickner (MT) surveying the lake islands for the RSPB, while the remainder were made by RHN and RSF. We believe that this distinctive tree is greatly under-recorded, and further work is required to determine this question. The record details are: Crannoges Island, LLE, 1989, MT; Hare Island, LLE, 1989, MT; Inishmakill Island, LLE, 1989, MT; Lough Nawalsky, NW of Lough Scolban, 27 July 1990, RHN; Drummony Bridge, Bannagh River, 9 July 1991, RHN; Keenaghan Lough, Tievalough Td, 7 July 1991, RHN & RSF; Horse Island, Killadeas Bay, LLE, 1992, MT; disused quarry, Roosky, 17 September 1994, RHN; roadside, Mullaghmore Bridge, 19 October 1996, RHN; Old Castle Archdale estate, August 2001, RHN.

The New Atlas hectad map shows P. × canadensis is widespread, frequent and scattered throughout Ireland, but with a high proportion of older pre-1970 records unconfirmed.