white poplar

American  

noun

1. Also called abele.  an Old World poplar, Populus alba, widely cultivated in the U.S., having the underside of the leaves covered with a dense silvery-white down.

2. the soft, straight-grained wood of this tree.

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white poplar British  

noun

1. Also called: abele.  a Eurasian salicaceous tree, Populus alba, having leaves covered with dense silvery-white hairs

2. another name for tulipwood

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Etymology

Origin of white poplar

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75

Example Sentences

The arches over the doors were painted with black cows, white poplar trees, and owls.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

It is formed of an almost uninterrupted succession of sandhills crowned with a tolerably rich vegetation; on it grow the white poplar, the aleppo and the umbrella pines.

From In Troubadour-Land A Ramble in Provence and Languedoc by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)

Sickness of Stomach.—Drink three or four times a day of the steep made from the bark of white poplar roots.

From Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 by Burroughs, Barkham

The great white poplar: one of the varieties of the populus alba.

From The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire by Jennings, James

The botanical name of Coltsfoot is Tussilago farfara, signifying tussis ago, "I drive away a cold"; and farfar, the white poplar tree, which has a similar leaf.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas