Index / Search / Populus balsamifera
§1 Plant
Populus balsamifera L.
vernacular balsam poplar — species · Salicaceae
§2Habit & range
Habit and range
- Growth habit
- Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Group
- Dicot
- Family
- Salicaceae Mirb.
- Genus
- Populus
§2a
Native status, by region
- AK Alaska Native
- CAN Canada Native
- L48 Lower 48 States Native
§2b
County-level range
· 308 counties across 22 states/territories§3Cultivation specs · USDA
Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.
§3a
Tolerances
- Drought
- Low
- Shade
- High
- Moisture use
- High
- Fire
- High
- Salinity
- None
- Anaerobic
- Medium
- CaCO₃
- High
- Hedging
- None
§3b
Climate & soil
- Cold tolerance
- -79 °F minimum
- Frost-free days
- 75 min.
- Precipitation
- 6–70 in/yr
- pH range
- 4.5–7
- Root depth
- 30 in min.
- Fertility need
- Medium
- Soil texture
- coarse, medium, fine
§3c
Form & growth
- Growth form
- Single Stem
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Lifespan
- Moderate
- Mature height
- 80 ft
- Height @ 20 y
- 35 ft
- Foliage texture
- Medium
- Foliage colour
- Yellow-Green
- Porosity (summer)
- Moderate
- Porosity (winter)
- Porous
- Flower colour
- Yellow
- Fruit colour
- Brown
- Fire resistant
- Yes
- N fixation
- None
- Toxicity
- None
§3d
Reproduction
- Bloom period
- Late Spring
- Seed abundance
- High
- Seed begins
- Spring
- Seed ends
- Summer
- Spread rate
- Moderate
- Stratify
- No
- Propagation
- seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e
Use & availability
- Commercial availability
- Routinely Available
- Nursery stock
- No
- Browse palatability
- Medium
- Graze palatability
- Low
- Palatable, human
- No
- Lumber
- Yes
- Fuelwood
- Low
- Christmas tree
- No
§4Counties, by state
Recorded in 308 counties across 22 states/territories.
Alaska view state ↗ 21 N ▾
- Anchorage 02020
- Bethel 02050
- Bristol Bay 02060
- Chugach 02063
- Copper River 02066
- Denali 02068
- Dillingham 02070
- Fairbanks North Star 02090
- Haines 02100
- Juneau 02110
- Kenai Peninsula 02122
- Kodiak Island 02150
- Lake and Peninsula 02164
- Matanuska-Susitna 02170
- Nome 02180
- North Slope 02185
- Northwest Arctic 02188
- Sitka 02220
- Southeast Fairbanks 02240
- Yakutat 02282
- Yukon-Koyukuk 02290
District of Columbia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
Illinois view state ↗ 4 N ▾
Indiana view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Iowa view state ↗ 2 N ▾
Maine view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Massachusetts view state ↗ 7 N ▾
Michigan view state ↗ 60 N ▾
- Alcona 26001
- Alger 26003
- Allegan 26005
- Alpena 26007
- Antrim 26009
- Arenac 26011
- Baraga 26013
- Benzie 26019
- Berrien 26021
- Cass 26027
- Charlevoix 26029
- Cheboygan 26031
- Chippewa 26033
- Clare 26035
- Crawford 26039
- Delta 26041
- Dickinson 26043
- Emmet 26047
- Gladwin 26051
- Grand Traverse 26055
- Gratiot 26057
- Houghton 26061
- Huron 26063
- Ingham 26065
- Ionia 26067
- Iosco 26069
- Iron 26071
- Isabella 26073
- Kalkaska 26079
- Kent 26081
- Keweenaw 26083
- Lake 26085
- Lapeer 26087
- Leelanau 26089
- Livingston 26093
- Luce 26095
- Mackinac 26097
- Marquette 26103
- Mason 26105
- Mecosta 26107
- Menominee 26109
- Midland 26111
- Montmorency 26119
- Muskegon 26121
- Oakland 26125
- Ogemaw 26129
- Ontonagon 26131
- Osceola 26133
- Oscoda 26135
- Otsego 26137
- Ottawa 26139
- Presque Isle 26141
- Roscommon 26143
- Sanilac 26151
- Schoolcraft 26153
- St. Clair 26147
- St. Joseph 26149
- Van Buren 26159
- Washtenaw 26161
- Wayne 26163
Minnesota view state ↗ 37 N ▾
- Aitkin 27001
- Becker 27005
- Beltrami 27007
- Benton 27009
- Carlton 27017
- Cass 27021
- Chisago 27025
- Clay 27027
- Clearwater 27029
- Cook 27031
- Crow Wing 27035
- Douglas 27041
- Hennepin 27053
- Hubbard 27057
- Itasca 27061
- Kittson 27069
- Koochiching 27071
- Lake 27075
- Lake of the Woods 27077
- Mahnomen 27087
- Marshall 27089
- Morrison 27097
- Norman 27107
- Otter Tail 27111
- Pennington 27113
- Pine 27115
- Polk 27119
- Pope 27121
- Red Lake 27125
- Rice 27131
- Roseau 27135
- St. Louis 27137
- Stearns 27145
- Todd 27153
- Wadena 27159
- Wilkin 27167
- Winona 27169
Montana view state ↗ 32 N ▾
- Beaverhead 30001
- Broadwater 30007
- Carbon 30009
- Chouteau 30015
- Deer Lodge 30023
- Flathead 30029
- Gallatin 30031
- Glacier 30035
- Golden Valley 30037
- Granite 30039
- Jefferson 30043
- Lake 30047
- Lewis and Clark 30049
- Lincoln 30053
- Madison 30057
- Meagher 30059
- Mineral 30061
- Missoula 30063
- Musselshell 30065
- Park 30067
- Petroleum 30069
- Phillips 30071
- Powell 30077
- Ravalli 30081
- Rosebud 30087
- Sanders 30089
- Silver Bow 30093
- Stillwater 30095
- Sweet Grass 30097
- Teton 30099
- Treasure 30103
- Yellowstone 30111
New Hampshire view state ↗ 7 N ▾
New Jersey view state ↗ 6 N ▾
New York view state ↗ 28 N ▾
- Albany 36001
- Cattaraugus 36009
- Cayuga 36011
- Clinton 36019
- Columbia 36021
- Erie 36029
- Essex 36031
- Genesee 36037
- Hamilton 36041
- Jefferson 36045
- Kings 36047
- Lewis 36049
- Monroe 36055
- Nassau 36059
- New York 36061
- Oneida 36065
- Orange 36071
- Oswego 36075
- Rensselaer 36083
- Richmond 36085
- Schenectady 36093
- St. Lawrence 36089
- Suffolk 36103
- Sullivan 36105
- Tompkins 36109
- Warren 36113
- Washington 36115
- Wyoming 36121
North Dakota view state ↗ 33 N ▾
- Barnes 38003
- Benson 38005
- Billings 38007
- Bottineau 38009
- Bowman 38011
- Burke 38013
- Burleigh 38015
- Cass 38017
- Cavalier 38019
- Divide 38023
- Eddy 38027
- Emmons 38029
- Grand Forks 38035
- Grant 38037
- Kidder 38043
- McKenzie 38053
- McLean 38055
- Mercer 38057
- Pembina 38067
- Ransom 38073
- Richland 38077
- Rolette 38079
- Sargent 38081
- Sheridan 38083
- Sioux 38085
- Slope 38087
- Stark 38089
- Steele 38091
- Stutsman 38093
- Towner 38095
- Ward 38101
- Wells 38103
- Williams 38105
Pennsylvania view state ↗ 19 N ▾
Rhode Island view state ↗ 1 N ▾
South Dakota view state ↗ 3 N ▾
Vermont view state ↗ 13 N ▾
Virginia view state ↗ 1 N ▾
West Virginia view state ↗ 2 N ▾
§5Sources & provenance
USDA PLANTS
Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.
plants.usda.gov/POBA2 ↗GBIF Backbone
Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.
gbif.org/species/3040184 ↗Record version
Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:
usda-plants-mt-2026-05-26
fetched 2026-05-26T10:32:10Z