2 JULY 1948, Page 20

Poplar Relations

A deal of evidence has reached me in answer to a query on the identity of the Lombardy and black poplar. The conclusion seems to be that the two are identical in almost all botanical respects except the density of the wood and perhaps the habit of the roots. Historically, evidence conflicts, though some claim that the Lombardy is Alsatian. Incidentally, the ex-Director of Kew who maintained their identity made a collection at Kew of fastigiate trees of many species. I was with him when he discovered, in Herefordshire, a fastigiate larch, now at Kew.