Also called abele. an Old World poplar, Populus alba, widely cultivated in the U.S., having the underside of the leaves covered with a dense silvery-white down.
2.
the soft, straight-grained wood of this tree.
Origin
1765-75, Americanism
British Dictionary definitions for white poplar
white poplar
noun
1.
Also called abele. a Eurasian salicaceous tree, Populus alba, having leaves covered with dense silvery-white hairs