E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Populus balsamifera L.
balsam poplar (balsam poplar (ssp. balsamifera); black cottonwood (ssp. trichocarpa))
Salicaceae (Willow family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Jim Riley  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #32652)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Populus balsamifera
Click here to view our interactive map and legend
Details about map content are available here
Click on the map dots to view record details.

SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Populus balsamifera ssp. balsamifera

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.



General:
Dioecious tree up to 50 m tall; not colonial; branches brown the first year, turning grey later; twigs smooth or sparsely hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, simple, narrowly to broadly egg-shaped or lanceolate, 5-20 cm long, 3-12 cm wide, the bases tapered to heart-shaped or squared-off smooth, finely toothed and hairy on the margins, the teeth often tipped with a callous gland, lower side whitish or pale green and brownish; leaf stalks 2-10 cm long, often with a pair of glands near the blade; buds finely hairy with fringed scales.
Flowers:
Borne in catkins; male catkins 2-3 (5) cm long, soon deciduous, with 8-60 stamens; female catkins 8-20 cm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, broadly egg-shaped, carpels 2-3, smooth or hairy, nearly unstalked.
Notes:
Two subspecies occur in BC. The hybrids P. angustifolia James x P. balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (P. x brayshawii Boivin) and P. balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa x P. nigra L. var. italica DuRoi are rare in BC .

1. Ovaries and capsules smooth; leaves pale green and brownish beneath.................... ssp. balsamifera

1. Ovaries and young capsules hairy; leaves whitish beneath.................... ssp. trichocarpa (T. & G.) Brayshaw

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Spring to Summer
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Moist uplands and floodplains in the montane zone; ssp. balsamifera - common in N and E BC; ssp. trichocarpa - common throughout BC except rare on Queen Charlotte Islands; ssp. balsamifera - N to YT, AK and NT, E to NF and S to NY, VA, IL, IA, CO, ID and OR; ssp. trichocarpa - N to S AK and YT, E to SW AB and S to ND, WY, UT, NV and CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Populus balsamifera

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 0 757 2131
Slope Gradient (%) -2 11 205
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
0 207 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
0 4 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
1540
Modal BEC Zone Class
BWBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BAFA(1), BG(3), BWBS(567), CDF(32), CWH(94), ESSF(54), ICH(260), IDF(57), MS(20), PP(7), SBPS(6), SBS(270), SWB(48)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References