Poplar

Populus spp. With several different species native to North America, the poplars are fast-growing trees, often referred to by landscapers as “weed trees” found throughout the temperate regions of North America. The poplar trees are an important group of lumber trees, however its light, flexible, slightly porous wood and quick growth makes it a very useful tree for manufacturing paper, pallets, and kitchen items and poplar logs are used for growing shiitake mushrooms. The tree is also good for coppicing and has the potential for efficient, renewable bioenergy supply. As a pioneer species, poplars can be used to reclaim damaged land and can even help remove certain toxins from the soil. The early spring buds of several species of poplar yield the reddish-brown sticky resin known as Balm of Gilead.
Poplars include several species referred to as poplar, and also aspen and cottonwood. There will be overlap between articles, but I do feel they all deserve their own page.
Some Poplar Species Black Poplar Populus nigra a large cottonwood native to Eurasia and Northwest Africa. The Lombardy poplar, popular with landowners who want a quick screen, is a cultivated variety of this species.
Grey poplar Populus x canescans is a hybrid between white poplar and aspen known for very fast growth.
White Poplar Pupulus alba, aka Silver Poplar, Abele, is medium sized native to the Iberian peninsula, Morocco and North to central Asia. It likes moisture, is tolerant to salt and has reputation for an invasive root system. White poplar is a troublesome invasive species in parts of North America. Its distinctive two-toned leaves (whitish dull pall green on the back, shiny bright green on the front) make it an attractive tree in the landscape and also reminds us of the duality of life and death.
Willow-Leaved Poplar or narrowleaf cottonwood Populus angustifolia, Native to Central North America, a source of Balm of Gilead.
Ontario balsam poplar Populus balsamifera, Native to Northern North America and a source of Balm of Gilead.
Western balsam poplar or black cottonwood Populus trichocarpa Native to Western North America, a source of Balm of Gilead.
Balm of Gilead tree Populus x gileadensis or Populus × jackii is a cross between balsam poplar, Populus balsamifera, and the eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides,
The tulip poplar or tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera is not a closely related species. This species provides a high-quality hardwood often sold as poplar wood (aka yellow poplar wood or tulipwood) but this wood is more finely grain than that of Populus species.
History and Folklore Greco-Roman lore mentions Leuce or Leuka, as the most beautiful of the Oceanids who was loved by Pluto. When she died, he turned her into a tree, the White Poplar, which is held to be sacred to him and a tie to the underworld. White poplar represents a peaceful afterlife and remembering the dead.
The poplar is also associated with Heracles who is said to have crowned himself with white poplar to celebrate his return from the Underworld. (Robert Graves The Greek Myths) Crowns of white poplar were presented to winners of his ceremonial games. Pausanias said that the Eleans (Olympia, Greece) used White Poplar wood for sacrifices because (he speculated) Heracles had brought them the custom. Some shrines from the Roman period show a poplar motif in decoration and some statues show Heracles crowned with poplar.
Lucian The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Volume III and Dialogues of the Gods the story of the sisters Phaethon, son of Helios who was killed attempting to drive the chariot of the sun. The sisters mourned and were turned into poplars and continued to cry tears of amber.
Robert Graves mentions white poplar in The White Goddess as one of three trees of resurrection, along with alder and cypress.
In the Victorian language of flowers, White Poplar symbolizes time.
The resin of several North American species of poplar has been used historically by North America’s indigenous population for a number of healing purposes. Christian European colonists thought the sweet smelling, powerful healing balm used by the native people they encountered in the New World reminded them of the Balm of Gilead mentioned in the Bible. So, the healing resin exuded by the group of poplars known as the balsam poplars is still known as Balm of Gilead today.
Harvesting Balm of Gilead Buds Balm of Gilead is obtained from the early spring buds of one of the balsam poplar species (Populus angustifolia, Populus balsamifera, Populus trichocarpa and Populus x gileadensis), many of which can be found along riverbanks. All rules of the respectful harvest should be followed (don’t take the first you see, don’t take the last you see, take less than half of what you find, take only what you need, use everything you take). Over-harvesting of leaf buds can kill a tree, so refrain from taking more than 1/3 of them. Taking the terminal tip of any branch can hamper a tree’s growth as well, so avoid doing this.
Poplars and cottonwoods can grow really tall and tend to keep their branches near the top, but poplars are, after all, notorious for shedding and you’re likely to find windfall branches all over, especially after a storm. Since poplar is considered a weed tree by many and tends to shed a big mess at flowering time, you can often find stumps with lots of young whips shooting up all around it, right at picking height.
The best time to gather the buds is in the early spring, on a dry, sunny day when it is quite cold. Be aware that the red resin will stain your fingers any container you put the buds in and plan accordingly. They may be stored, unwashed, in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to process them.
To extract the resin into an oil for future use in making salves, fragrance oil or ritual oil, cover the buds with oil in a pan or crockpot, cover and heat gently, for 2-3 hours, stirring gently every 15 minutes or so.
You could also do a cold extract by allowing the buds to macerate in oil for several weeks in a warm, dark place.
Strain the oil and store in a cool dry place. Vitamin E or Gum Benzoin may be added as a preservative. Oil prepared this way will last for several months, up to a year.
Magical and Ceremonial use of Poplar Poplar corresponds to the energy of Jupiter. It is sacred to Heracles, Pluto, Zeus and Melkarth.
White Poplar leaves are suitable for altar decoration for Samhain, celebrations in honor of Hades, ancestral rites, funerals and any ceremony related to the underworld, life cycles, death and rebirth. Poplar leaves and wreaths are suitable graves decorations. In the absence of White Poplar, other poplar species have bi-colored leaves and can be substituted, though their appearance will not be as striking.
Poplar wood can be used to make good all-purpose wands and is a good choice for a backing to a magick mirror or a box to store divination tools as it may enhance their efficacy.
Balm of Gilead buds or their resin may be burned as an appropriate incense for any of the above occasions and also for spells related to attraction- from love spells to attracting employees and reconciliation and soothing the pain resulting from arguments, rejection and betrayal. It is also useful for Necromancy and any ceremony involved in presenting offerings to Gods, ancestors or spirit beings as the scent is said to be very pleasing and attractive to spirits.
Balm of Gilead resin may be used in anointing oil or dressing oil for any and all spells related to attraction, reconciliation and soothing injured feelings and damaged relationships. It is also suitable for anointing tools to be used in the service of spirit.
As a fragrance, Balm of Gilead resin may be used to make the wearer more attractive, to draw a lover to you or to encourage a wandering lover to reconcile.
A Balm of Gilead buds and bits of resin may be added to sachets and container spells or used in sympathetic spells for attraction and reconciliation.
Dress your money with Balm of Gilead oil before you send it out into the world to encourage it to return to you.
The keywords for Balm of Gilead buds and resin are attraction, reconciliation, and balm. They can be used for spells to attract and to sooth (or balm) any feelings or tensions that lead to a split. They are useful for love spells, but also for getting jobs (and getting back on the payroll after a layoff), reconciling with friends you’ve argued with, attracting wealth, attracting customers.
Poplar for Healing The buds of the balsam poplars, called Balm of Gilead buds, yield a sticky reddish-brown resin with many healing qualities. It is rich in salicin, a natural anti-inflammatory and analgesic also found in Willow, Meadowsweet and, of course, aspirin. Balm of Gilead also has anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties.
As a topical ointment, it serves as a broad-spectrum antibiotic and also has anti-inflammatory and analgesic qualities because it is rich in salicin. A healing oil can be made by extracting the resin from the buds into a carrier oil which can then be used as-is or thickened into a salve to use as a first-aid wound salve as you would an antibiotic ointment, a general balm for skin irritations, chafing, diaper rash, atopic dermatitis and weather-chapped skin and as a massage oil for sore muscles and strains, general inflammation and joint pain. Additional herbal ingredients may be added to enhance or efficacy of your balm. It is said that Balm of Gilead improves the action of other herbs, pulling them deeper into the tissues so they can work more efficiently.
An infusion or tincture of the buds can be used to combat coughs, bronchitis, sore throat, hoarseness and laryngitis. The taste is not as pleasant as the smell, so it is often made into syrups or lozenges.
Black poplar has a history of use for medicine in Europe as well. All poplars produce salicin and other healing compounds. A decoction of the bark can be drunk for relief from rheumatism and gout and an infusion of the buds drunk for the treatment of kidney and urinary tract infections. A tincture diluted in water can be used for coughs and colds.
There is a bit of confusion about poplar, aspen, and cottonwood trees. The tree referred to here is the genus “populus” which includes true poplars, as well as related trees such as cottonwood and aspen). Here’s a quick list:
Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera) Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata) Black Poplar (Populus nigra) European Aspen (Populus tremula) Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Black Cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) As far as I could discover, the Aspen and Poplar tree magickal lore overlap, and can be used interchangeably, unless otherwise indicated. The lore does not refer to the Yellow Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), or Balm of Gilead (Populus candicans) which have different attributes and magickal qualities
Celtic name: Eadha (pronounced: “Eh’ uh”). Folk or Common names: All Poplar – Popple, Alamo, Aspen; Trembling Poplar – American Aspen, White Poplar, or Quaking Aspen; Balm of Gilead – bombagillia.

Magickal Usage: Ruler: Saturn Type: Plant Magickal form: Buds Carry poplar buds with you when seeking employment. Crush and add them to traditional money incense when you work on commission and need to attract more funds. The poplar buds may also be added to divination blends and make a great ingredient for psychics wishing to attract more business, as well as improving their powers.
The Poplar’s ability to resist and to shield, its association with speech, language and the Winds indicates an ability to endure and conquer. The Poplar is known as the “Tree that Transcends Fear”. Poplars symbolize the magick of joy, the aging of the year, resurrection and hope – and are connected to the Otherworld. Poplar can be used in magick done for success, passage and transformation, Hope, rebirth, divinations, shielding, endurance, agility in speech and language, protection, and love – and as an aid in astral projection.


Poplar can be used in protection charms of all kinds. Poplar is a good wood to burn in balefires and ritual fires since it offers protection. Shields can be made of Poplar since the wood is thought to offer protection from injury or death. Carrying Poplar helps to overcome the urge to give way under the burden of worldly pressures, and aids in determination. Poplar buds can also be carried to attract money and can be burned as an incense to create financial security.
Siberian reindeer-hunting cultures carved small goddess statues of Poplar (Aspen) wood. Groats and fat were then offered to the figures with this prayer:
“Help us to keep healthy! Help us to hunt much game!”
Poplar buds are also sometimes added to flying ointments and was also used in astral travel. A medieval recipe for a flying ointment called for Cinquefoil, Poplar leaves, soot and bat’s blood obtained at the wake of the new moon.
The trembling leaves of the Poplar tree can be ‘read’ to divine messages from the God and Goddess, and also from spirits that drift into woods. The Poplar is the sacred World Tree of the Lakota nation. For the sun dance ceremony, a Poplar is carefully cut and lowered, then is re-erected in the center of the dance circle. While being carried the Poplar must never touch the ground. Green branches, a buffalo skull and eagle feathers were used to decorate the Poplar for this ceremony.
Aspen Lore: A country name for the aspen is the Shivver-tree, a name which in some districts is also given to the poplar. The leaves of both trees tremble at the slightest stirring of air, so that they seem to move without ceasing when all around is still. Because of this, both trees were formerly credited with the power to cure agues and fevers.


A very old magical tradition held that ailments could most efficaciously be treated by something that resembled their effects; and since ague causes the patient to shake and tremble, he was likely to be healed by the shaking tree.
In his Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties, William Henderson relates the story of a Lincolnshire girl who was thus cured of ague. She was advised to pin a lock of her hair to an aspen, saying as she did so:
“Aspen tree, aspen tree, I prithee to shake and shiver Instead of me.”
As was usual in such charms, her journey home had then to be made in complete silence, otherwise the magic would not work. She followed the advice given, and many years later, when she was an old woman, she told Henderson’s informant that she had never been troubled with ague again.
Another method was to bore a small hole in the tree trunk, insert the patient’s nail parings, and close the hole securely. As the bark grew once more over the opening, so the disease would disappear.
Two widespread legends are told to account for the aspen’s trembling. One is that it was condemned to shiver thus for evermore because it was the only tree that would not bow down to Our Lord when He passed through the forest. The other is that it shudders perpetually with horror because its wood was used to make the Cross on Calvary.
Poplar Lore: The poplar shares with the aspen the country name of Shivver-tree because like those of the latter, its leaves tremble. It also shares, and for the same reason, the aspen’s power to cure agues and fevers. R.M. Heanley records a Lincolnshire charm in which the patient cut off a lock of his hair and wrapped round a black poplar branch, saying as he did so:
When Christ our Lord was on the Cross, Then didst thou sadly shivver and toss. My aches and pains thou now must take, Instead of me I bid thee shake.
He then had to go straight home, speaking to no one on the way, after which he would be free from ague forever. Heanley adds that some people considered it necessary to fast for twelve hours before attempting this charm.
The constant shaking of the poplar is often accounted for by the legend that its wood was used in the construction of the Cross. Medieval Legends of Christ (1934), mentions two explanatory legends. One is that it was under a poplar that Our Lord prayed during His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and that the tree has trembled in sympathy ever since. The other is that it was cursed because, alone among the trees, it refused to mourn at the Crucifixion, saying that Christ died for sinners, “but I am innocent, and His suffering is no concern of mine.”
Poplar leaves were supposed to be one of the ingredients of the witches’ flying ointments.
Magical History and Associations: In Gaelic tongue the tree was called Peble and Pophuil in the celtic way. Poplar is generally a plant of Jupiter, Saturn and the Sun and is associated with the element of water. Its color is rufous (red) and the bird associated with Poplar is the Whistling Swan. The stones associated with Poplar are Amber, Citrine Quartz, Sapphire and Swan Fluorite. The Anglo-Saxon rune poem seems to refer to the Poplar as being associated with the rune “berkano”.


Heracles wore a crown of Poplar leaves in triumph after killing the giant Cacus (the evil one) and retrieving Cerberus from Hades. The upper surface of the Poplar leaves was thus darkened from Hades’ smokey fumes. Poplar trees are sacred to the Mesopotamian goddess Ua-Ildak. The Grass King of Grossvargula, who was seen as having fertilizing powers, went on horseback wearing a pyramid of Poplar branches and a crown. He led a procession of young men about the town and was then stripped of his branches beneath the Silver Lindens of Sommerberg.
Poplar (Aspen) is said to be the tree of the Autumn Equinox and of old age, and is known as the shield makers’ tree. The Black Poplar was a funeral tree sacred to Hecate as death goddess, to Egeria, and to Mother Earth. Plato makes a reference to the use of Black Poplar and Silver Fir as an aid in divination. The Silver Fir standing for hope assured and the Black Poplar for loss of hope. The Grove of Persephone in the Far West contained Black Poplars and old Willows.
In ancient Ireland, the coffin makers measuring rod was made of Aspen, apparently to remind the dead that this was not the end. In Christian lore, the quaking Poplar (Aspen) was used to construct Christ’s cross, and the leaves of the tree quiver when they remember this fact.
Herbal usage: Poplar can be used as a tonic, chiefly used in treating fevers. The infusion has been found helpful in treating chronic diarrhea. The sap collected from the buds can be used to make a healing ointment and can be used as an external application in bruises, swellings, and some skin diseases. Teas can be made from the Poplar buds and are useful in helping treat arthritis and rheumatism.