Collection: Poplar Wood Furniture

Poplar wood comes from trees of the Populus genus. The genus has a large genetic diversity, and can grow from anywhere between 15–50 m tall, with trunks of up to 2.5 m diameter. They have the advantage of growing to a very large size at a rapid pace. Almost all poplars take root readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground (they also often have remarkable suckering abilities, and can form huge colonies from a single original tree, such as the famous Pando forest made of thousands of Populus tremuloides clones). The leaves often turn bright gold to yellow before they fall during autumn. Many poplars are grown as ornamental trees.

The Greeks made shields of poplar, and Poplar continued to be used for shield construction through the Middle Ages and was renowned for a durability similar to that of oak, but at a substantial reduction in weight. Poplar was the most common wood used in Italy for panel paintings; the Mona Lisa and most famous early renaissance Italian paintings are on poplar Poplar is widely used for the manufacture of paper. More specialised uses include matches and the boxes in which camembert cheese is sold. Poplar wood is used to produce chopsticks and wooden shoes.

There is interest in using poplar as an energy crop for biomass or biofuel, in energy forestry systems, particularly in light of its high energy-in / energy-out ratio, large carbon mitigation potential and fast growth.

Poplar lumber is commonly used for furniture and cabinet framing construction. It shows little shrinkage and has excellent gluing qualities. It is soft and lightweight, which helps it accept nails and screws without splitting. Frequently, poplar is finished to look like other woods. It takes paint very well.