Chinese Necklace Poplar
 

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Average mature size of 60' tall and 45' wide. Crown is tower-shaped or rounded.

Native Range

Native to parts of Central China to mountain slopes, riverside woods; 1300-3500 m. Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan.

Flower and Fruit Details

Flowers April to May, male catkin 3.5-4.7" long, female catkin 5.9-9.4" long, capsules ovoid, 0.4-0.7", tomentose, 3-valved, shortly stipitate or sessile. Fruits are oblong, tiny seeds, 0.1-0.2", May to June.

Leaf and Bark Features

Leaves are heart-shaped, huge up to 30cm long and 25cm wide with eye-catching rhubarb red veins and leaf stalks. Bark is dark gray, furrowed. Branchlets are yellowish-brown or slightly purplish-brown, coarsely robust, loose, angled, tomentose when young, or pilose to glabrescent. Buds are ovoid-conical, large, slightly viscid, the basal scale is tomentose.

Culture and Care

Zones 5-10.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

In mid-summer an established plant has masses of spectacular, woolly catkins which cover the branches.

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA