Poplar Trees: Folk Belief, Remedies, and the Arbor Tree

Poplar trees are perhaps one of the lesser-known trees that I've featured on this blog. Many people can recognise an oak tree on sight, but how many could recognise the poplar?  Indeed, how many would realise John Constable added a black poplar to the background of his famous painting, 'The Hay Wain'? We find these trees in the willow family, and for a tree that's less common now, they have a surprising amount of folklore. The trees even gave their name to the London borough, Poplar, due to the number of black poplars in the area.  There are also different types of poplar, though this article will focus on the black and white varieties. So how did people use the tree in their remedies, and what superstitions surround the poplar? Let's find out in this week's episode of Fabulous Folklore! Find the blog post with all the images and references here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/poplar-trees/ Check out the Woodland Trust: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/ Donate to Secure The Rothbury Estate: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/appeals/rothbury-estate-nature-and-nation Get your free guide to home protection the folklore way here: https://www.icysedgwick.com/fab-folklore/ Become a member of the Fabulous Folklore Family for bonus episodes and articles at https://patreon.com/bePatron?u=2380595 Get weekly articles and bonus content at Substack: https://fabulousfolklore.substack.com/ Buy Icy a coffee or sign up for bonus episodes at: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick Fabulous Folklore Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/fabulous_folklore Pre-recorded illustrated talks: https://ko-fi.com/icysedgwick/shop Request an episode: https://forms.gle/gqG7xQNLfbMg1mDv7 Get extra snippets of folklore on Instagram at https://instagram.com/icysedgwick Find Icy on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/icysedgwick.bsky.social 'Like' Fabulous Folklore on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fabulousfolklore/