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Brit. /
p
pl
/, U.S. /p
plr/ Forms: ME popelere, ME popiler, ME poplere, ME poppeler, ME popyller, ME pypelere, ME pypiler, ME-15 populer, ME-16 popeler, ME-16 popler, lME pepler, 15 pepeler, 15 popelare, 15 popplar, 15-16 poplare, 15-16 popular, 15- poplar; U.S. regional (south. and south Midland) 19- poppelor, 19- popular.N.E.D. (1907) also records a form ME populere. [< Anglo-Norman popler, popeler, populer, pepler, variant of Middle French poplier, pouplier, peuplier, pepelier, populier (c1170 in Old French; French peuplier) < either pople, peuple poplar (although this is first attested much later: mid 15th cent.) or its etymon classical Latin p
pulus (see POPPLE n.1) + Old French -ier -IER suffix; compare -ER suffix2. Compare post-classical Latin popiller (1413 in a French source). Compare also Middle Dutch popelier, populier (Dutch populier) < Old French. Compare earlier POPPLE n.1
It is uncertain whether the following examples show the Anglo-Norman or the Middle English word:
1326 in Accts. Fabric Exeter Cathedral (1981) 167 [15 large] pupeleris [bought for scaffolds]. 1356 in Pipe Roll 32 Edward III nr.33 f.b, Reddit compotum de ix s. x d. receptis de loppis et ramis ij poplers.
Attested earlier in place names, as Popler (1327), Popeler (1340), Populer (1346), now Poplar, Middlesex.]
1. a. Any of various deciduous, tall and fast-growing, sometimes narrowly erect, trees constituting the genus Populus (family Salicaceae), occurring throughout north temperate regions, which have characteristically ovate or heart-shaped leaves with toothed margins and often flattened petioles, and which flower on drooping catkins before the leaves emerge (see also poplar tree n. at Compounds 1a).
1371 Close Roll, 45 Edward III (P.R.O.: C 54/209) m. 4
v, Terciam partem gardini videlicet de fossa vocata le popeler Dyche versus le Est.
c1384 Bible (
Wycliffite, E.V.
)
(Douce 369(2)) (1850) Hosea iv. 13 Thei brenneden tymyame..vnder ook and poplere [
v.r. populer; L.
populum].
1440 Promp. Parv. (Harl. 221) 408 Poplere, or popultre,
populus.
?a1500 in G. Henslow
Med. Wks. 14th Cent. (1899) 52 For to make..popilion. Gedre leuys of pypelere, [etc.].
?1523 J. FITZHERBERT Bk. Husbandrie §130 In many places..[they] set such wethyes and pepelers in marshe grounde to nourysshe wode.
1562 W. TURNER Seconde Parte Herball f. 98, Poplers grow by water sides and in moyst places.
?1614 W. DRUMMOND Song: It was the time in
Poems, The Poplare spreads her Branches to the Skie, And hides from sight that azure Cannopie.
1677 Topsfield Rec. 20 That popeler is his bound corner tree.
1744tr. G. A. Bazin
Nat. Hist. Bees X. 202 It is thought to be from poplars, birch, and willows, that they [
sc. bees] collect it
1785 W. COWPER Poplar Field 1 in
Gentleman's Mag. 55 53 The poplars are fell'd, and adieu to the shade and the whispering sound of the cool colonnade.
1830 TENNYSON Mariana iv, in
Poems 16 Hard by a poplar shook alway, All silvergreen with gnarled bark.
1878 Daily Constit. (
Georgia
)
13 Mar. 2/1 It is not time to plant corn until the leaves of the poplar are as large as squirrels' ears.
1900 J. K. JEROME Three Men on Bummel (1978)
VII. 81 The German is rooting out all other trees, and replacing them with poplars.
1934 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 21 488 The character of winter injury to poplar and privet was quite similar to that..for elm and pussy-willow in that the extremities of both terminal and lateral branches were killed.
1992 E. A. P
ROULX Postcards V. liv. 298 The row of poplars, wind harps behind the farmhouses.
b. With distinguishing word: a particular kind of tree of this genus.
balsam, black, grey, Lombardy, trembling poplar, white poplar, etc.: see the first element.
1562 W. BULLEIN Bk. Simples f. 58
v, in
Bulwarke of Defence, Pine trees, and white Populars.
1670 J. EVELYN Sylva (ed. 2) xviii. §1. 80 The Black Poplar is frequently pollar'd when as big as ones arm, eight or nine foot from the ground.
1766 Museum Rusticum VI. 176 The Italian, or Lombardy poplar, is of very quick growth, easily multiplied.
1778 W. B
OUTCHER Treat. on Forest-Trees (ed. 2)
XVI. 100 The trembling Poplar..is, amongst all the trees yet known, the fittest for planting by the sides of rivers, to prevent their incroachments.
1819 D. THOMAS Trav. through Western Country 93 The true balsam poplar differ greatly in the leaf [from
Populus angulata]; but the buds of both..[are] resinous.
1830 J. BAXTER Libr. Agric. & Hort. Knowl. 403 The Trembling Poplar does not succeed so well on stiff clayey soils, but will thrive in almost any other.
1882 F. B. H
OUGH Elem. Forestry XI.118 The Lombardy poplar forms an admirable windbreak; but in ornamental planting it shows to best advantage when it rises from behind, or among trees with rounded tops.
1935 Syracuse Herald (
N.Y.
)
11 Aug. 8/5 She pulled a young branch from a grown balsam poplar nearby and planted it not far from the wall.
1974 W. C
ONDRY Woodlands xiii. 151 In Britain we have three native poplars: aspen, grey poplar and black poplar. And several introductions which are far better known because often near or in towns: Lombardy poplar, white poplar, balsam poplar and black Italian poplar.
2000 Nottingham Evening Post (Nexis) 25 Oct. 24 Black poplars are the tallest trees in Britain but they are also one of the rarest. Their decline has been put down to too many male trees and not enough female ones
2. The wood of the poplar, characteristically soft, pale in colour, and loose-textured.
a1450(1408) tr. Vegetius
De Re Militari (Douce) f. 63
v,
e oost most haue..tables of popiler, wythy, &
o
er li
t wode.
1662 J. EVELYN Silva (1786) I 204 Boards made of poplar are durable if kept dry.
1734 Builder's Dict. I. , Whitewood and the Poplar, Birch, Aspen &c. are the worst of all Woods to burn.
1799 W. NICOL Pract. Planter 64, I have even heard of small ships being built of poplar!
1843 ‘R. CARLTON’ New Purchase I.
XX. 189 All the time Tom talking and laughing away, like a fellow whittling poplar with a dirk-knife.
1882 Manitoba Daily Free Press 18 Feb. 8/1 It may not be generally known that of all wood, poplar makes the best paper.
1929 Times 5 Mar. 12/5, I have seen floor boards of poplar; it has the reputation of being a bad wood to burn.
1944 S. R
OSS One's a Heifer in R. Brown & D. Bennett
Anthol. Canad. Lit. in Eng. (1982) I. 462 He raked the coals with the lifter and put in poplar, two split pieces for a base and a thick round log on top.
2004 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 3 Sept.
E23 A tall, freestanding case made of poplar, it was painted with a slightly different ‘dry brush’ technique, with most of the paint wrung from the brush.
3. Any of several trees of other families: (a) N. Amer. (more fully tulip poplar or yellow poplar), the tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipfera (family Magnoliaceae), an ornamental and timber tree which has wood resembling that of the poplars; the wood of this tree; (b) Austral. (more fully native poplar), either of two small trees with leaves resembling those of many poplars, the bleeding heart tree, Omalanthus nutans (family Euphorbiaceae), of western Australia (also Queensland poplar), and the horseradish tree, Codonocarpus cotinifolius (family Gyrostemonaceae), of central Australia.
1700 Philos. Trans. 1699 (Royal Soc)
21 437 Here [in Maryland] is a sort of Poplar that makes good White Plank, it is a large Tree, and bears a Flower like a Tulip.
1766 Compl. Farmer,
Tulip-tree,..a native of North America,..is generally known through all the English settlements by the title of poplar.
1774 J. R. P
EYTON Let. 21 July in J. L. Peyton
Adv. My Grandfather (1867) 127 The forest of Kentucky consists of yellow and white poplar, walnut, red bud.
1843 J. TORREY Flora N.Y. I. 28 Tulip Tree. Tulip Poplar... The bark is a stimulating tonic and diaphoretic.
1868 A. GRAY Field Bot. 42
L[iriodendron]
tulipifera. A tall, very handsome tree, in rich soil, commonest W[est], where it, or the light and soft lumber (much used in cabinet-work), is called White-wood, and even Poplar.
1889 E. G
ILES Austral. Twice Traversed II. 195 There was nothing but the native poplar for the camels to eat, and they devoured the leaves with great apparent relish, though to my human taste it is about the most disgusting of vegetables.
1898 E. E. MORRIS Austral Eng. 365
Poplar, in Queensland, a timber-tree,
Carumbium populifolium.
1955 Sci. News Let. 7 May 302/2 The tulip tree is also variously known as tulip poplar, yellow poplar, whitewood and fiddle-tree.
1979 J. W
RIGLEY & M. F
AGG Austral. Native Plants 194
Codonocarpus cotinifolius..Native poplar. Tall, pyramidal tree. Leaves are poplar-like, grey-green.
2005 Providence (
Rhode Island
)
Jrnl. (Nexis) 29 Apr.
B4 The tulip tree, also known as the yellow poplar, has square-shaped leaves and tulip-like flowers. Indigenous to these parts, the tulip tree is lovely in all seasons.
COMPOUNDS
C1. a. General attrib.
poplar block n.
1870 W. MORRIS Earthly Paradise II.
III. 278 From off the *poplar-block white chips would fly.
2001 Wood & Wood Products (Nexis) 1 June 147 We make a small line of solid tables. I sent you some poplar blocks to look at that could possibly be specially promoted in our advertising.
poplar board n.
a1399 in W. G. Benham Oath Bk. Colchester (1907) 9 *Popler bord and al otter nesschebord that comth to towne, for j c fet ob. 1481-90 in J. Payne Collier Househ. Bks. John Duke of Norfolk & Thomas Earl of Surrey (1844) 517 Payd to Umfray, carpenter, for c.c. of popler bord. 1721 Particular & Inventory Thomas Reynolds 17/2 (table) In Poplar Boards at Strangeways 3 [shillings]. 1884 Manufacturer & Builder June 142/1 The safety catch is attached to the bottom of the platform, and consists of a half-inch poplar board resting on springs. 2004 Washington Post (Nexis) 5 May C15 The oil portrait was painted on a half-inch-thick piece of poplar board.
poplar branch n.
1590 SPENSER Faerie Queene II. ix. 39 What wight she was that *Poplar braunch did hold?
1725 J. GLANVILL Poems 119 So the fond Insect, void of Care, On Poplar Branches straid.
1893 Atlantic Monthly Feb. 170/2 The wind that rustled among the poplar branches outside my window.
1922 J. JOYCE Ulysses II. 109 A bird sat tamely perched on a poplar branch.
2004 Detroit Free Press (Nexis) 28 Oct., The speed of his fall was broken somewhat by the three-inch-thick poplar branch that broke off when he caught it between his thighs.
poplar ditch n. Obs. rare
1371 *Popeler dyche [see sense 1a].
poplar grove n.
1591 R. P
ERCYVALL Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. s.v.
Alameda, A *popler groue,
Populetum.
1706 J. STEVENS tr. Cervantes
Don Quixote (ed. 2) II. xxviii. 163 They pac'd on leisurely, coming at length to a Poplar Grove.
1818 Times 13 Mar. 3/2 Hedges of living quick, a yew alcove, Tall elms, bright apples, and a poplar grove.
1983 P. S
T. P
IERRE Last Day of Violence in
Smith & Other Events 114 Coarse grass, patched with Red Osier brush, islanded with poplar groves and, at the edge where the jack-pine forest stood, stippled with dead pines.
poplar leaf n.
c1450 Med. Recipes (BL Add. 33996) in F. Heinrich
Mittelengl. Medizinbuch (1896) 136 Make aplastur of
e feerfoye & *popeler leeuys & of may buter.
1561 J. HOLLYBUSH tr. H. von Braunschweig
Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye 13 b, Make hym a playster of Popular leaues.
1653 N. C
ULPEPER Pharmacop
ia Londinensis 39/2 Knotgass, Golden Maiden-hair, Poplar leaves and Buds, Leeks, Purslain, Silverweed, or wild Tansy, [etc.].
1725 POPE tr. Homer
Odyssey II.
VII. 135 Their busy fingers move Like poplar-leaves when Zephyr fans the grove.
1838 Times 6 Aug. 4/4 Oak and poplar leaves, entwining tricoloured flags, shaded numerous trophies of arms.
1988 Yankee July 118/2 Pollywogs black and round like rotted poplar leaves.
poplar log n.
1850 G. WARBURTON Conquest Canada 148 Their [
sc. beavers'] winter food, consisting of *poplar logs, pieces of willows, alder, and fragments of other trees, is collected in autumn.
1976 B. B
ROADFOOT Pioneer Years 175 Poplar logs, a chimney made of mud and prairie rocks.
2004 Edmonton (
Alberta
)
Jrnl. (Nexis) 24 May
B4 He proved the biolubricant works by using it on a heavy-duty chainsaw to cut poplar logs into boards.
poplar shade n.
1594 Warres Cyrus II p. xviii, Here may we vnder this *poplar shade, Discourse vpon the sweetnesse of our loue.
1685 DRYDEN Sylvæ 58 Yet on the grass beneath a poplar shade By the cool stream, our careless limbs are lay'd.
1728 J. THOMSON Spring 36 Her pinions..low-drooping scarce Can bear the mourner to the poplar shade.
1883 Overland Monthly June 657/1 In balm-tree grove and poplar shade Im-na-ha lived, the Indian maid.
1928 W. B. YEATS Poems (1997) 224 Love had come unsought Upon the Norman upland or in that poplar shade.
poplar timber n.
1497 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 235 Certeyn *poppeler-tymbre for making of cc pavysses. 1861 D. D. OWEN 4th Rep. Geol. Surv. Kentucky 519 These beds [of rock] are..especially marked on the line by a growth of large poplar timber. 2002 Evening Standard (Palmerston North) (Nexis) 21 May 14 He said poplar timber, as well as being a poor burner, had durability.
poplar tree n.
c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker
Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 604/8
Populus, a *populertre.
1576 A. FLEMING tr. Hippocrates in
Panoplie Epist. 276 Poplar trees, of notable talnesse.
1665 R. HOOKE Micrographia 127 As also that Mushroms may be made to grow at the foot of a wilde Poplar Tree.
1740 G. NELSON Wonders Nature 224 There is a sort of Canes as big as Poplar Trees, so thick and long between the Knots that the Indians cleave them, and make Boats of them
1809 A. HENRY Trav. & Adventures Canada 128 Young wood of the birch, aspen, and poplar-tree.
1994 D. W. R
OWE Bye, George
I think you got It in H. C. Sisson & D. W. Rowe
Coots, Codgers & Curmudgeons (1994) 150 In the scorching July sun, chopping down thirty-foot poplar trees and grubbing out willows made a man thirsty.
poplar twig n.
1603 T. POWELL Vertues Due sig. B4, To store eche Nymph with shafts, the goddesse bids, To fill her quiuers all with *Poplar twigs.
1756 T. HALE Compl. Body Husb. xxxii. 168/2 Where Birch is scarce they sometimes make Brooms of white Poplar Twigs.
1899 J. W. MACKAIL Life W. Morris I. 335 Ordering three hundredweight of poplar-twigs for experiments in yellow dyeing.
1974 W. C
ONDRY Woodlands xiii. 148 The lunar hornet moth has a caterpillar which lives hidden inside willow or poplar twigs feeding on the pith.
2000 Sentinel (
Stoke
)
(Nexis) 17 Aug. 23 By boiling poplar twigs he discovered a rich yellow dye, a technique he developed during his time in Leek.
b. poplar-bordered adj.
1857 Albion 3 Oct. 477/1 The straight *poplar-bordered roads that traverse Rosa Bonheur's country. 1972 K. V. FLANNERY in M. P. Leone Contemp. Archaeol. xxii. 256 Springs..which in turn feed permanent poplar-bordered streams.
poplar-covered adj.
1840 L. S. COSTELLO Summer amongst Bocages II. iii. 60 A staircase..conducts us to a long walk
in the river, planted with low shrubs, to the *poplar-covered island.
2002 Calgary (
Alberta
)
Herald (Nexis) 31 May
B2 From the top of the park's two aspen, white spruce and balsam poplar-covered escarpments, the Rocky Mountains can be seen on a clear day.
poplar-crowned adj.
1798 W. S. LANDOR Gebir VI. 157 *Poplar-crown'd Sperchios.
1903 Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 23 127 The Meleager of the Vatican, the poplar-crowned Heracles, and the female heads of Athens and Berlin have been regarded as copies of originals by Scopas.
1996 M. M. S
AGE Warfare in Anc. Greece v. 219 The poplar-crowned soldiers presumably are those who are receiving special bonuses.
poplar-flanked adj.
1891 R. KIPLING Light that Failed xiii. 240 Maisie put her elbows on the window-sill and looked at the moonlight on the straight, *poplar-flanked road.
2003 Weekend Austral. (Nexis) 17 May
B18 I've seen too many blindingly beautiful mountains, glaciers, lakes, poplar-flanked country roads and springy green fields dotted with snowy sheep.
poplar-lined adj.
1867 Times 24 Oct. 10/4 Days of travel along the *poplar-lined
chaussée and monotonous railroads.
1978 S. WILSON Dealer's Move v. 100 Endless poplar-lined avenues stretched ahead.
1996 Holiday Which? Jan. 37/2 A well-chosen map..may highlight a scenic poplar-lined road or riverbank route as an alternative to a cash-guzzling autoroute.
C2. poplar aphid n. any of several aphids which infest poplars; spec. those of the genus Pemphigus (family Pemphigidae), esp. P. bursarius, which forms galls on the leaf stalks.
1816 W. KIRBY & W. S
PENCE Introd. Entomol. (ed. 2) I. ii. 29 The *poplar and apple Aphis are distinct species.
1936 R. W. D
OANE et al.
Forest Insects x. 365 The speckled poplar aphid.
Chaitophoroides populifoliae (Fitch), is abundant from Utah to Idaho.
1986 Great Lakes Entomologist 19 21 (
title) The spotted poplar aphid
Aphis maculatae and its suppression by insecticidal soaps.
poplar beetle n. = poplar leaf beetle n.
1816 W. KIRBY & W. S
PENCE Introd. Entomol. II. xxi. 245 The grub of the *poplar-beetle..is remarkable for similar organs.
1928 Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 21 437 Chrysomelid eggs, such as those of the poplar beetle,
Lina scripta.
1993 Canad. Entomologist 125 399 (
title) Life history of the poplar beetle
Chrysomela tremulae F. in the central region of France.
poplar birch n. the grey birch, Betula populifolia, a slender ornamental tree found in northeastern North America.
1818 A. EATON Man. Bot. II. 172
Betula..populifolia..white birch..*poplar birch..30 to 40 feet high.
1874 Amer. Naturalist 8 193 When Penikese was first known it was covered with a growth of trees... Among these may be mentioned the red cedar, pitch pine.poplar birch, hornbeam [etc.].
1998 Jrnl. Biogeography 25 1040 (
table) Poplar-birch and pine forests of western Siberia.
poplar borer n. U.S. a North American longhorn beetle, Saperda calcarata; (also) the larva of this beetle, which attacks the trunk and branches of poplars and certain other trees, causing blackened and swollen scars.
1871 Amer. Naturalist 4 (Index) 773 *Poplar borer. 1942 S. W. FROST Gen. Entomol. XIX. 381 The poplar borer..and the carpenter worm..keep at least a portion of their burrows free from frass and other waste material. 2002 Sacramento (Calif.) Bee (Nexis) 13 June CL8 The poplar borer (Saperda calcarata) attacks aspen, cottonwood, poplar and willow.
poplar dagger n. U.S. Obs. rare
0 the cottonwood dagger moth, Acronicta lepusculina.
1890 Cent. Dict., *Poplar-dagger, a bombycid moth, Acronycta populi, whose larva feeds on poplar-leaves.
poplar girdler n. U.S. Obs. rare 0 a longhorn beetle, Saperda concolor, the larva of which forms galls on the trunks of poplar and willow saplings.
1890 Cent. Dict., *Poplar-girdler, a longicorn beetle, Saperda concolor, whose larva girdles the trunks of poplar-saplings.
poplar grey n. a greyish Eurasian noctuid moth, Acronicta megacephala, whose larvae feed on poplar leaves.
1832 J. RENNIE Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 78
Acronycta... The *Poplar Grey.
1929 Times 24 Sept. 15/5 The larva of the poplar grey..is a common object in autumn on poplar trunks in the London area.
1984 B. S
KINNER Moths Btit. Isles 119/1 Poplar Grey... The pale, usually white hindwings of this species distinguish it from
A. rumicis.
poplar hawk n. = poplar hawkmoth n.
1766 M. HARRIS Aurelian 4 This Disease is more fatal to the Caterpillars of the Emperor, Eyed Hawk, and *Poplar Hawk, than the Privet.
1832 J. RENNIE Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit 23 The Poplar Hawk (
Sm[
erinthus]
Populi, Latreille) appears the end of June.
1967 E. B. FORD Moths (ed. 2)
II. 25 An abnormality both of Privet Hawk and Poplar Hawk larvae,..in which the segment bearing the posterior horn is duplicated, is known to be unifactorial and recessive.
1998 Guardian 9 June
I. 16/8 It had a wing span of some three and a half inches and was, in fact, one of the hawk
moths
the Poplar Hawk.
poplar hawkmoth n. a common large grey European hawkmoth, Laothoe populi, whose larvae feed mainly on poplar leaves.
1720 E. ALBIN Nat. Hist. Eng. Insects Descr. 57th Plate, This being commonly called the *Poplar Hawk Moth.
1887 G. NICHOLSON Illustr. Dict. Gardening III. 471/2 The Poplar Hawk Moth..lives on Poplars and Willows, and on Laurel and Laurustinus.
1909 A. C. S
EWARD Darwin & Mod. Sci. 29 Years ago I observed in caterpillars of
Smerinthus populi (the poplar hawk -moth), which also possess white oblique stripes, that certain individuals showed red spots above these stripes.
2004 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 19 June (Features section) 22 Children love the Poplar Hawkmoths, which resemble dead leaves and cling to them with their sticky feet.
poplar kitten n. a European moth, Furcula bifida (family Notodontidae), which has pale grey forewings with dark bands and whose larvae feed mainly on poplar leaves.
1887 G. NICHOLSON Illustr. Dict. Gardening III. 254/2 The *Poplar Kitten..feeds on Aspen and other Poplars.
1961 R. SOUTH Moths Brit. Isles I. 73 (
heading) The Poplar Kitten (
Harpyia bifida Brahm).
2004 Daily Tel. 19 June 22 The Poplar Kitten and the Peach Blossom, the Pale Tussock and the Phoenix... All of them are moths.
poplar leaf beetle n. any of several beetles of the family Chrysomelidae, esp. Chrysomela populi (in Britain) and C. lapponica (in N. Amer.), whose larvae feed on poplar and other trees of the willow family, causing skeletonization of the leaves.
1917 Manitoba Free Press 16 Feb. 7/5 Every poplar and willow was stripped by the *poplar leaf beetle, but the insects did not bother the maple, ash nor elm. 1951 F. J. CHITTENDEN Dict. Gardening III. 1643/1 The Poplar Leaf Beetle, Melasoma populi, is responsible for the skeletonizing of the leaves of poplars. 2001 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 15 Aug. 12 Saw poplar leaf beetles, bright red but unspotted, on sallow.
poplar lutestring n. a Eurasian noctuid moth, Tethea or (family Thyatiridae), which has brown markings on its grey forewings and whose larvae feed on the leaves of aspen and poplar trees.
1819 G. SAMOUELLE Entomologist's Compend. 402 The lesser Lutestring..The *Poplar Lutestring.
1967 E. B. FORD Moths XIII. 191 The black form..of the Poplar Lutestring, which has increased in so spectacular a fashion in industrial Germany.., seems in this country to have been found only in a restricted rural area in Yorkshire.
1984 B. S
KINNER Moths Brit. Isles 14/2 Poplar Lutestring... Larva. All the races feed on aspen, but those of the English race are found occasionally on poplar.
poplar pine n. rare the Lombardy poplar, Populus nigra ‘Italica’ (cf. pine poplar n. at PINE n.2 Compounds 2a); the wood of this tree.
1770 H. WALPOLE Let. 25 Dec. in
Wks. (1798) V. 142 If *poplar-pines ever grow, it must be in such a soaking season as this.
1965 Ironwood Daily Globe (
Mich.
)
25 June 7/4 [They] own 80 acres of timber of the poplar-pine and swamp conifer types.
1997 Chattanooga (
Tennessee
)
Free Press (Nexis) 26 Oct.
I4 Several new AVA members exhibited work in this show: Larry Parham (cherry and poplar pine corner cabinet).
poplar-spinner n. Obs. rare = poplar tentmaker n.
1841 T. W. HARRIS Rep. Insects of Mass. Injurious to Vegetation 314 Our *poplar spinner may be called
Clostera Americana, the American Clostera.
1890 Cent. Dict.,
Poplar-spinner, a geometrid moth,
Biston ursaria, whose larva defoliates poplars in the United States.
poplar tentmaker n. rare a North American moth, Clostera inclusa (family Notodontidae), the larvae of which strip poplar trees of their leaves.
1906 E. P. FELT Insects affecting Park & Woodland Trees II. 560 *Poplar tent maker..Melalopha inclusa Hubn. A black, yellow-striped larva..feeds in the folded, webbed-together leaves of poplar and willow. 1926 Trans. Amer. Entomol. Soc. 52 192 This parasite [sc. Achaetoneura melalophae] is one of the most important natural controls of the poplar tentmaker..which is periodically abundant on the Lombardy Poplar. 1998 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 27 Aug. 1, I described the denuded willow, my ravaged river birches and the gauzy nest in a nearby sourwood. ‘Poplar tentmaker,’ Tyndall said confidently.
poplar worm n. Obs. a moth caterpillar that feeds on poplar leaves.
1806 Balance 5 228/2 The scratch from a cat poisoned by the *poplar worm was equally pernicious. 1851 L. H. SIGOURNEY Crushed Mouse 32, I, who..gave all monstrous things, Cockroach, and dragon-fly, and poplar worm, Wide passport. 1888 Appletons' Cycl. Amer. Biogr. IV. 659/2 Dr. Parrish achieved reputation by his scientific attainments... Among his experiments were a series that led to a proof of the harmlessness of the ‘poplar worm,’ supposed at that time to be exceedingly venomous.
DERIVATIVES
poplared adj. planted with poplars.
1881 Littell's Living Age 5 Mar. 578/2 And now although the inviting river flows, And every *poplared cape, and every bend Or willowy islet, win upon thy soul. 1902 Daily Chron. 4 Sept. 7/4 The afternoon was lovely, by the poplared Loire. 2004 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 21 Feb. 3, I sit on a log and look out at the lake, all sky and water in front and low, pined and poplared shoreline behind me.
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