The Trees at Keele
Grey Poplar Populus canescens
Origin: Grey Poplar is a hybrid between the White Poplar P. alba and the Aspen P. tremula. As such it has features of both parents to varying degrees.
Leaves: from the White Poplar it gets the felty covering of the underside of the leaves. This gradually wears off to leave a thin greyish coating. From the Aspen it gets its more rounded leaf shape. The leaves of White Poplar tend to be more deeply lobed, almost maple-shaped at times. In the autumn the leaves turn yellow.
The bark is quite stunning. It is covered in diamond-shaped indentations (lenticels), as if hammered with a chisel, when young becoming deeply furrowed when older.
Location : one behind the Sport Centre; square J4; tags 2204, 2196 and two by lake 1; square P10; tag 7738.