The black poplar is a medium- to large-sized deciduous tree, reaching 20–30 m, and rarely 40 m tall. Normally, their trunks achieve up to 1.5 m in diameter, but some unusual individual trees in France have grown old enough to have much larger trunks – more than 3 meters DBH. Their leaves are diamond-shaped to triangular, 5–8 cm long and 6–8 cm broad, and green on both surfaces. The species is dioecious, male and female flowers are on different plants, with flowers in catkins and pollination achieved by the wind. The black poplar grows in low-lying areas of moist ground. Like most other pioneer species, the tree is characterized by rapid growth and is able to quickly colonize open areas.
