Garden Notes - Abele to Ash

Abele, or White Poplar
Populus alba

Native British tree; when fully grown reaches a height of 70-100 feet. Roots send up numerous suckers. Wood white, soft and light. Bark on upper part of trunk smooth, grey, and pitted with irregular lozenge-shaped marks; on lower part bark forms vertical cork-like ribs. Leaves vary in shape; upper surface dark green and smooth, under surface white and coated with down. Stamen-bearing flowers in drooping catkins, 3in. to 4 in. long, pale purplish-red. The shorter yellowish catkins of Pistil-bearing flowers never grow on the same tree as the stamen-bearing flowers. Seeds have long white cotton filaments attached.

Acacia, or Locust Tree
Robinia Pseudacacia

Introduced from N. America early in the 17th century. Light and graceful in growth, somewhat like its relative the Laburnum, but larger. Bark: brownish, deeply furrowed and with raised ridges forming a lattice like pattern. Leaves: long and narrow, broken up into small oval leaflets arranged in pairs feather-wise, pairs usually 5-12 in number; sharp spines at base of leaf-stalk. Leaves close up, and hang downwards at night. Flowers appear in June and July, pea-shaped, in hanging clusters similar to those of Laburnum; white and fragrant. Fruit: thin flat pods, dark reddish-brown in color.

Common Alder
Alnus glutinosa

Loves low-lying moist soil by the riverside; usually grows 30-50 feet in height, but occasionally higher. Roots often partly above ground and much twisted. Wood: excellent for use under water (piles, &c.). Bark: rough, dark purplish-grey in color. Leaves: 2 in. to 4 in. long, egg-shaped, with narrow ends attached to stalks. Stamen bearing and Pistil-bearing flowers in catkins on the same twig; formed during summer, remaining dormant through winter, and ripening the following spring. Fruit: not produced until tree is 20 years old, in cones, ripening in October or November. Empty cones remain on tree through the winter.

Crab, or Wild Apple
Pyrus Malus

A native British tree. Varies in height from 20 to 30 feet, though quite old trees are sometimes little larger than bushes. Branches: often spread widely when young, and droop when older, so that tree is rounded in shape. Bark: grayish-brown, cracked and fissured. Leaves: vary in shape, more or less oblong, edges toothed. Flowers: 1in. to 1 ½ in. in diameter, five white petals tinted with pink, in small clusters, fragrant. Fruit: almost spherical, about 1 in. in diameter, red and yellow when ripe. The Apple is cultivated in every country where it can be made to grow, some 1,500 varieties being known.

Ash
Fraxinus excelsior

A native British tree, lofty and commanding, yet graceful in growth. Timber: tough and elastic; largely used for agricultural tools, axle-trees, carriage-shafts, & c. Bark of trunk and branches pale grayish-olive. In winter and early spring black leaf-buds very conspicuous on their stout twigs. Leaves: opposite one another, divided into 4-7 pairs of leaflets, each 1 in. to 3 in. long; lance-shaped, with toothed edges. Flowers: appear in April or May, in dense erect purple-black clusters. These are succeeded by bunches of "keys," or winged Fruit; wings twisted to enable fruit to spin steadily and reach the earth seed-end first.