More Black Poplars

Bah still feeling like crap definitely off for the night now

Black poplars

Populus nigra at the Chase, Dagenham

WW - Dryads

A new dryad on one of the Chase's black poplars? Taken on a pleasant Sunday afternoon



I had to check that my favourite dryad was still there. Unsurprisingly he most certainly was! This week's entry for the Tuesday and Wednesday edition of Wordless Wednesday.

Photo Hunt - Wood

The theme for this week's Photo Hunt is wood so here (for once!) I've chosen some subjects that are wood (and not just an excuse for a cat or a flower photo...)

This is a Black Poplar taken at the Chase nature reserve in Dagenham near where I live. Balck Poplars were once a common sight in England but became very rare. There are six Black Poplars at the Chase
This is St Andrews in the Essex village of Greensted. It is remarkable for being the oldest surviving wooden structure in Europe.

The oldest wooden part of the church (the nave) dates back to the time of the Norman conquest. The steeple is 17th Century

Wordless Wednesday - Dryads

This week's entry for the Tuesday and Wednesday edition of Wordless Wednesday. The gnarled but dignified black poplars at the nearby Chase nature reserve seem to be covered in faces.

Dryads

As seen on Black Poplars in the Chase Nature Reserve betwen Hornchurch and Dagenham

The Highways Agency does its bit to save the Black Poplar

I will freely admit that I am an ignoramus when it comes to identifying trees (okay I can tell an oak...) One of the few I can definitely identify is the Black Poplar and that is because of a whopping great sign at a local nature reserve providing a wealth of information about the tree, including the fact that it is one of the rarest trees in Britain.. I have put up posts on the trees at the Chase nature reserve here, also here and here.

It is good to see that the Highways Agency is doing its bit to prevent this tree from extinction. 24 of them have been planted along the A421 Great Barford Bypass, near Bedford recently. In 1993, environmental scientists predicted the species would be extinct in Britain within 20 years because land development was lowering the water table in many places and this was destroying the trees' natural habitat.

The Highways Agency has now started a planting programme for the Black Poplar on its road schemes. They will be used in landscaping to bring back a traditional look to the countryside, the Highways Agency said.

Festival of the Trees 10

The 10th edition of Festival of the Trees is now at Roger B's Words and Pictures. Needless to say it includes plenty of excellent posts about trees and tree related matters. My post about the Black Poplars at a local nature reserve is among them (not that I think it's excellent - it's just among a lot of excellent posts!).

The Festival is well worth a visit if you have an interest in trees or if they give you wood...

Black Poplar - Chase Nature Reserve,

The Black Poplar (Populus nigra var betulifolia) is one of Britain’s most endangered native timber trees. There are only 3000 specimens, of which just 600 are female.

The Black Poplar was once a common sight in Britain. It was a very useful source of timber and was often planted near farms and villages and used for scaffolding, wagon making, even for arrows - a Black Poplar in Portsmouth is the descendant of one used to make arrows for the armoury of the Mary Rose.


However, the Black Poplar needs very specialised conditions in which to propagate. The seeds need to lie undisturbed on bare, wet mud or silt from June to October to germinate successfully. These conditions became harder to find as suitable habitats were lost.


Also as the need for native timber dwindled fewer Black Poplars were planted, this propagation difficulty became more important. Even worse, as a rule only male trees were planted: the females were considered a nuisance because of the drifting white down they produce.

thanks to Peter Roe’s informative Black Poplar website for this information.


It is nice to know that a local nature reserve, the Chase has six female specimens. These photographs were taken here earlier today.

London Wildlife Trust