Earlham Cemetery in Norwich contains many fine trees, including the native Black Poplar, Populus nigra subspecies betulifolia, one of our largest and most striking native species. Until recently there were six trees but three have now been felled, leaving just three survivors.

One of the Native Black Poplars in Earlham Cemetery. November 2014.

There was a native Black Poplar in Chapelfield Gardens in Norwich until 1932, when it was felled, and the Earlham Cemetery trees were probably grown from cuttings from the Chapelfield tree. There is no absolute proof of this, but I was concerned that we could lose these trees altogether, which would be a great shame.

During spring 2014 members of the Friends of Earlham Cemetery group took cuttings from the remaining native Black Poplar trees in Earlham Cemetery. They are currently in pots in several gardens in Norwich. I have five cuttings, which rooted well in water before I potted them up in late spring. Once the trees are a bit bigger, we will pass them on to Norwich City Council so they can be planted at suitable locations such as Bowthorpe Southern Park, on the western outskirts of Norwich on the floodplain of the River Yare.

The native Black Poplar is a rugged, heavyweight tree with a straight trunk, usually with a distinct lean. In suitable growing conditions it can reach 30 metres in height, with a girth of 1.3 metres at chest height. The branches arch and sweep downwards. The trunk appears black from a distance because the bark is deeply ridged and gnarled, though at closer range it is actually a grey-brown colour.

While the English name comes from the colour of the trunk, the scientific name comes from the Greek papaillo, to shake, after the movement of the leaves in the breeze. Betulifolia describes the birch-like shape of the leaves.

There are separate male and female trees. Male trees are covered in bright red catkins in early April, sometimes known as “Devil’s fingers” and said to bring bad luck to those who pick them up. Female trees produce huge quantities of down seeds that float in clouds upon the wind.

Black poplars are one of only two native poplar species in Britain, the other being the Aspen, Populus tremula. The related Hybrid Black Poplar (Populus x canadensis) and Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’) are found much more often. The Lombardy Poplar has a fastigiate (upright) growth habit, very different from the native Black Poplar.

The native Black Poplars in Earlham Cemetery are rather out of place and it is probably too dry for them, though they can withstand atmospheric pollution, such as the fumes of cars on Bowthorpe Road. The tree’s natural habitat is along riverbanks, where the seeds can fall onto mud and germinate. The mud must remain wet during the critical first summer of growth. The fallen twigs also grow easily if they fall onto wet mud. But wild riverbanks are now very scarce and most native Black Poplars have been planted and occur in fields and hedges, often near farms and ponds.

The tree can be used to make stakes, bowls, veneers and even artificial limbs and poplar wood arrows were found aboard the wreck of the “Mary Rose”. A well in Viking York was made from a hollowed out Black Poplar trunk.

In medieval times the native Black Poplar was relatively common in East Anglia, especially Suffolk and Essex, but by the end of last century there were fewer than fifty trees left, all of them male. Since the early 1990s, cuttings have been taken from as many remaining trees as possible and planted out in suitable sites.

Thanks to Imogen Mole (Arboricultural Officer) and Paul Holley (Natural Areas Officer) from Norwich City Council, who have been very supportive of this project.

This piece is adapted from an article I wrote for the Friends of Earlham Cemetery Members’ Newsletter earlier this year.

In February 2016 we planted nine of the trees we raised at Marston Marshes – read more here.