Which is similar
The poplar species occurring in our latitudes can usually be somewhat differentiated from one another by their habitus. The black poplar, for example, has a much larger and oak-like gnarled appearance, whereas the balsam poplar is smaller and has a softer, more ascending crown silhouette.
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The habitus of the trembling poplar and the birch poplar is quite similar, so that the two can be confused from a distance. Both have an elliptical to conical and irregularly branched crown that starts quite far below. Also in height, the two are largely the same at 15 to 25 meters. Aspen and birch poplar can only be identified with certainty when you approach the tree.
The distinguishing features
There are clear differences between aspen and birch poplar in the following categories:
- bark
- leaves
- Location
bark
Both species have a smoother bark at a young age and a more furrowed bark at an older age. However, the color is slightly different: the aspen bark is initially yellowish-brown and turns into a dark gray-brown over the years. In the birch poplar, the bark has a distinctly gray color, initially in a lighter shade, and as it ages, in a darker shade.
leaves
The two types of poplar can be distinguished most clearly from the leaves. However, there is also a small stumbling block here. Because the aspen develops two differently shaped leaf types early and later in the year. The early ones on the long shoots are, however, very characteristic and unmistakable with their broad, small-round and wavy lobed shape on the outside. The later summer leaves of the short shoots are clearly triangular and almost smooth on the edge.
In the case of the birch poplar - hence the name - we have quite birch-like leaves. They have an elliptical to inverted egg-shaped contour and are finely sawn on the edge.
Location
You can also tell with relative certainty whether you are looking at an aspen or a birch poplar from where you are. The two prefer quite different locations. Aspens love light and like to grow up Clear cuts, Roadsides and rock heaps. Birch poplars, on the other hand, prefer to be near the water and are more likely to be found in floodplains and groves.
