Black Poplar

 

Newtown’s great survivor the rare Black Poplar tree was runner up in the 2019 Welsh Tree of the Year competition, thanks to all the local people who voted for it.

The Black Poplar is one of Britain’s rarest and most endangered native species, so to have one growing in the heart of the town is a story of survival on its own, but our Black Poplar has had more than fungal disease, leaf rusts and poplar scab to contend with.

 

The story of survival starts in the 1960’s, the tree then stood majestically on the Llanllwchaiarn side of the river. Due to the great floods of 1960 and 1964 a large flood prevention scheme was needed. As a result, the river was diverted and moved, and the tree found a new home on the Newtown side of the river.

Amazingly the tree survived all the work and continued to thrive! The Poplar’s existence was then threatened in 1990 when it survived plans to be chopped down to make way for an extension of the car park.

Thankfully special conditions were put into place to protect it and no harm came to the tree again.

The tree has remained a popular attraction in the town with locals and visitors alike, providing a landmark welcome for all and is still a very popular spot to picnic and relax.

As well as the survey Newtown and Llanwchaiarn have taken steps to save the gene line by taking propagation cuttings which will be ready to be planted by the original tree in the Autumn.

In 2002 it was estimated only some seven thousand individual trees remained in England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, with only about 600 of those thought to be female.

Since 2002 native black poplar conservation effects have resulted in the establishment of several clone banks, providing male and female cloned saplings for planting. It is thought several hundred new trees have since been planted, giving hope for the conservation of the sub-species and its remaining genetic diversity.

The Newtown Black Poplar has been identified as a true native black polar from morphological analysis and then confirmed in 2020 in an arboricultural report.

As this great, old tree has aged and watched over the town, it has needed extensive surgery as the trunk had decayed and the top of the tree was sadly removed, meaning it will never reach its once great heights, but it is still standing and still surviving.