Key to Poplars and Willows
in New Zealand

0. Poplar or Willow?

• 0. Poplar or Willow?

For poplars, features important in identification include:

• Shape of crown – whether broad and spreading or narrow and upright
• Angle of branches
• Bark characteristics – whether rough or smooth
• Shape of leaves – triangular, diamond-shaped, heart-shaped, round, ovate (egg shaped), or lobed
• Leaf margins – toothed, entire, wavy, translucent
• Leaf stalk – rounded, flattened
• Sex of the plant, colour, length and shape of the catkins
• Presence of suckers

This key will enable the user to identify a clonal group (e.g P. x euramericana) and then a possible identification within the clonal group ('Veronese'). The key covers modern clones, but does not include clones distributed before 1980.

For willows, features important in identification include:

• leaf shape
• presence of leaf hairs
• leaf colour
• number of main stems
• position of leaf buds on the stem
• branch form
• branch colour
• tree crown shape
• sex of flowers