Day 4,
Beautiful, majestic, reminescent of far country sides.
Poplars are omnipresent throughout temperate europe.
In Italy poplars plantations are the only relevant producers of wood at industrial levels. Using just over 1% of the total forestry area, polars privide 50% of timber stock for internal use.
It is also the main ingridient for the paper manufactury sector.
In Bundanon both the Lombardy Poplars (popuplus nigra) and Poplars Deltoides are present.
Edible Uses:
Inner bark – dried, ground then added to flour and used for making bread etc. A famine food, used when all else fails.
Medicinal Uses:
Alterative; Anodyne; Antiinflammatory; Astringent; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Expectorant; Febrifuge; Salve; Stimulant; Tonic; Vulnerary. The leaf buds are covered with a resinous sap that has a strong turpentine odour and a bitter taste. They also contain salicin, a glycoside that probably decomposes into salicylic acid (aspirin) in the body. The buds are antiscorbutic, antiseptic, balsamic, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, salve, stimulant, tonic and vulnerary. They are taken internally in the treatment of bronchitis and upper respiratory tract infections, stomach and kidney disorders. They should not be prescribed to patients who are sensitive to aspirin. Externally, the buds are used to treat colds, sinusitis, arthritis, rheumatism, muscular pain and dry skin conditions. They can be put in hot water and used as an inhalant to relieve congested nasal passages. The buds are harvested in the spring before they open and are dried for later use. The stem bark is anodyne, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, astringent, diuretic and tonic. The bark contains salicylates, from which the proprietary medicine aspirin is derived. It is used internally in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, gout, lower back pains, urinary complaints, digestive and liver disorders, debility, anorexia, also to reduce fevers and relieve the pain of menstrual cramps. Externally, the bark is used to treat chilblains, hemorrhoids, infected wounds and sprains. The bark is harvested from side branches or coppiced trees and dried for later use.
Other Uses:
Cork; Rooting hormone; Shelterbelt; Wood. An extract of the shoots can be used as a
rooting hormone for all types of cuttings. It is extracted by soaking the chopped up shoots in cold water for a day. A fast growing tree, it is often used to provide a quick screen or windbreak. The cultivar ‘Italica’ is commonly used for this purpose though it is not a very suitable choice because it has fragile branches and is prone to basal rots which can cause sudden collapse. The cultivar ‘Plantierensis’ is much more suitable. A resin obtained from the buds is made into a salve and used in home remedies. The bark is used as a cork substitute for floats etc. Wood – very soft, very light, rather woolly in texture, without smell or taste, of low flammability, not durable, easy to work, very resistant to abrasion. Used for lower quality purposes.
