Rare Tree Makes Local Comeback
The black poplar one of Britain’s rarest native trees, is being given a boost to its numbers down in a new 15-acre reserve next to Freemans Wood.
Thanks to an Environment Agency project, to be known as Freeman’s Pools, a number of black poplar trees have been planted. The saplings are genetic matches to a mature specimen at the nearby Freeman’s Wood County Biological Heritage Site.
Cathy Ovens, the Environment Agency’s biodiversity officer, said: “The black poplar was once a common sight in the British landscape and features in many classical paintings such as John Constable’s The Hay Wain. The species has historically been persecuted as the females produce vast amounts of fluffy seeds that can cause a nuisance for landowners. Large numbers of females were destroyed meaning that the tree has been edging towards extinction in the UK.”
Freeman’s Pools was created after the Environment Agency bought the land to excavate providing material for the construction of new flood embankments.