Aspens and birch poplars are among the types of poplar that we find in Central Europe. In many ways, the two are quite similar and not easy to tell apart from afar. On closer inspection, however, they can be identified.
The birch poplar has birch-like leaves
which is similar
The poplar species that occur in our latitudes can usually be distinguished from one another to some extent by their habit. For example, the black poplar has a much larger and gnarled, oak-like appearance, while the balsam poplar is smaller and shows a softer, more ascending crown silhouette.
The habit of the aspen 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 is set on quite low. The two are also largely the same height at 15 to 25 meters. Aspen and poplar can only be identified with certainty when you get closer to 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 when they are young and more furrowed when they are older. However, the coloring is somewhat different: the aspen bark is initially yellowish-brown and turns dark grey-brown over the years. The bark of the birch poplar has a distinctly gray colour, initially lighter and darker with age.
leaves
The two types of poplar can be distinguished most clearly by their leaves. However, there is also a small stumbling block here. Because the aspen forms two differently shaped leaf types early and later in the year. However, the early ones on the long shoots are very characteristic and unmistakable with their broad, small-round and wavy-lobed shape on the outside. The later summer leaves of the spurs are clearly triangular and almost smooth at the edge.
With the birch poplar we have - hence the name - quite birch-like leaves. They have an elliptical to inverted egg-shaped outline and are finely serrated at 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 are light-loving and like to grow on clear cuts, roadsides and rock heaps. Birch poplars, on the other hand, prefer to be near water and are more likely to be found in floodplains and riparian groves.