Populus italica Moench, Verz. Ausland. Baume 79. 1785; P. fastigiata Poiret; P. nigra var. pyramidalis (Bork.) Spach; P. pyramidalis Rozier.

Bark dull gray, rough. Crown columnar. Leaf blade of short branchlets and long shoots not uniformly shaped, pilose along veins on both surfaces; blade of short branchlets rhombic-deltoid or rhombic-ovate, 5-10 × 4-9 cm, broadly cuneate to subrounded at base; blade of long shoots deltoid, usually wider than long, ca. 7.5 cm. Fl. Apr, fr. May.

Widely planted and cultivated in the Chang Jiang and Huang He basins. Fujian, Hebei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Sichuan [native to WC Asia, Europe]