A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her' tree
is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on Saturday.
Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there was a label.
I know it's not much information, but these trees are currently shedding
their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?
--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 2013-07-17 17:56:27 +0100, Spider said:

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her' tree
is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on
Saturday. Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there was
a label. I know it's not much information, but these trees are
currently shedding their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?

Could it be Populus nigra?
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 17/07/2013 18:05, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-07-17 17:56:27 +0100, Spider said:

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her' tree
is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on
Saturday. Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there was
a label. I know it's not much information, but these trees are
currently shedding their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?

Could it be Populus nigra?




Crikey, that was quick! Yes, it certainly could. I'll tell her and, of
course, give you the credit. Great stuff! Thanks, Sacha.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

Don't know the name but I know the one you mean. I lived at Kingston on
Thames during the war and we had a row of them on the road down to the
river. Make a mess? .................... Yes but I thought they were great.

I wonder if they are still there.

Mike



"Spider" wrote in message ...

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her' tree
is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on Saturday.
Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there was a label.
I know it's not much information, but these trees are currently shedding
their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?
--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On 2013-07-17 18:42:56 +0100, Spider said:

On 17/07/2013 18:05, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-07-17 17:56:27 +0100, Spider said:

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her' tree
is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on
Saturday. Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there was
a label. I know it's not much information, but these trees are
currently shedding their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?

Could it be Populus nigra?




Crikey, that was quick! Yes, it certainly could. I'll tell her and,
of course, give you the credit. Great stuff! Thanks, Sacha.

We had one in a former garden. It always looked very messy but in a
good way. ;-)
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 17/07/2013 18:05, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-07-17 17:56:27 +0100, Spider said:

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her'
tree is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on
Saturday. Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there
was a label. I know it's not much information, but these trees are
currently shedding their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?

Could it be Populus nigra?

When I was young we lived outside Hastings and had a cotton wool tree
which we always thought was a willow, now after around 60 years I find
we were wrong.

On 17/07/2013 23:35, David Hill wrote:
On 17/07/2013 18:05, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-07-17 17:56:27 +0100, Spider said:

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her'
tree is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on
Saturday. Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there
was a label. I know it's not much information, but these trees are
currently shedding their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?

Could it be Populus nigra?

When I was young we lived outside Hastings and had a cotton wool tree
which we always thought was a willow, now after around 60 years I find
we were wrong.

Both willows and poplars produce masses of cottony stuff, even if
poplars are perhaps more prolific.

--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

On 17/07/2013 23:35, David Hill wrote:
On 17/07/2013 18:05, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-07-17 17:56:27 +0100, Spider said:

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her'
tree is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on
Saturday. Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there
was a label. I know it's not much information, but these trees are
currently shedding their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?

Could it be Populus nigra?

When I was young we lived outside Hastings and had a cotton wool tree
which we always thought was a willow, now after around 60 years I find
we were wrong.




I think one of the willows may produce 'cotton wool', but I found very
confusing information on the web about it, not least because many sites
are American and the common names differ from ours. Hence my asking
here. I just knew it would help :~).

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

"Sacha" wrote

, Spider said:

Sacha wrote:
Spider said:

A friend has asked me if I know the identity of the tree near her home
which produces a mass of cotton wool as it sheds its seeds. 'Her' tree
is in Bristol, but I saw a similar display at Hampton Court on
Saturday. Alas, I couldn't get close enough to it to see if there was
a label. I know it's not much information, but these trees are
currently shedding their white woolly seed mass. Any ideas, please?

Could it be Populus nigra?




Crikey, that was quick! Yes, it certainly could. I'll tell her and, of
course, give you the credit. Great stuff! Thanks, Sacha.

We had one in a former garden. It always looked very messy but in a good
way. ;-)


Think yourself lucky it wasn't Ceiba pentandra, the Kapok Tree. Couldn't
believe the amount of stuff that blew down from that tree. But at least it's
useful.

-- Regards
Bob Hobden
Posting to this Newsgroup
from the W.of London. UK