• White poplars make good shade trees.poplar trees image by david hughes from Fotolia.com
  
  White poplar trees can grow to 70 feet high, although many top out at about 40 feet. The wood is lightweight and the bark ranges from white-green to silvery in hue, explains the University of Illinois Extension Service. White poplars thrive in sunny areas, in moist, but well-drained soils. The trees tolerate salt and air pollution well, and have therapeutic properties and some construction uses. White poplars are fast-growing, but fragile, and don't live as long as other trees, reports website BluePlanetBiomes.org.
  
  

Landscaping

• Because white poplars grow quickly, they're often used as residential shade trees and as windbreaks around commercial orchards, report websites BluePlanetBiomes.org and Waterwereld.nu.
  
  

Therapeutic Uses

• White poplar contains salicin and populin, aspirin-like substances that reduce fever, inflammation, and pain. This makes it useful in treating arthritis, the Herbs2000.com website reports. White poplar is also an appetite/digestive stimulant and can help counteract the physical effects of anorexia, this source adds. The tree bark's astringent and antiseptic properties can help counteract diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and urinary tract infections.
  
  

Commercial Uses

• Due to its light weight, white poplar is often used to make boxes, crates, paper pulp, and wood shavings to stuff upholstered furniture and for packing breakable objects. Historically, white poplar has been used in packing cases; children's toys; spools and boards around which silk is wrapped; and large barn doors (due to its light weight and non-warping properties). White poplar has also been used to make musical instruments, cabinets, casks, and floorboards, but must be seasoned a few years first, according to the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, a magazine published in 1844.