The black poplar is a large riverside tree, traditionally exploited in Spain through pollarding to obtain straight timber beams.
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Malpighiales |
| Family | Salicaceae |
| Genus | Populus |
| Species | Populus nigra |
It is a medium to large deciduous tree that can reach 20 to 30 metres in height. Its straight trunk, with greyish bark, cracks lengthwise with age, forming deep, dark ridges that give the tree its name.
Its leaves, rhomboid to triangular in shape, are green on both sides, unlike those of the white poplar.
It is native to Europe, south-western and central Asia and north-western Africa. It grows naturally in riparian woodland and other damp places beside rivers, irrigation channels and canals, forming a characteristic part of the river landscape across much of Spain.
In wide areas of the Iberian System mountains, the so-called “chopos cabeceros” (pollarded poplars) survive: old black poplars pollarded for generations to obtain the straight, tall branches used as beams in traditional construction, a centuries-old agroforestry practice.
