Flora of the Southeastern United States

Populus balsamifera Linnaeus. Common name: Balsam Poplar, Maanazaadi, Hackmatack, Tacamahac. Phenology: Mar-Jun; May-Jul. Habitat: Floodplains, disturbed areas. Occurring further north in a variety of habitats such as depressions, drainages, river bottoms, spruce-aspen forests, or on well-drained sites atop glacial deposits. Distribution: Newfoundland and Labrador (Labrador) and Alaska south to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon; scattered farther south, perhaps primarily by introduction. Ranges south to s. Pennsylvania (Rhoads & Block 2007), e. and c. Kentucky (Clark et al. 2005), Virginia (Kartesz 2023), and w. North Carolina (Yancey County, D. Leslie, pers.comm. 2025). Also reported for n. Georgia (Jones & Coile 1988) and provisionally for South Carolina (Kartesz 1999), but apparently based on a specimen from cultivation. Many of the attributions of this species to states in our area are based on misidentifications; others southward (Kentucky) appear to represent atypical hybrids or forms and are cited within somewhat isolated and often disturbed habitats (e.g., [P. candicans] R. Clark 22338; S. Ward, pers. obs.; 2025).

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Synonymy ⓘ: = C, Can, FNA7, G, GrPl, Mi, NY, Pa, POWO, Tat, WV; = n/a — RAB; = Populus balsamifera L. ssp. balsamifera — K1, K4, NE, NS; > Populus balsamifera L. var. balsamifera — F; > Populus balsamifera L. var. michauxii (Dode) Henry; > Populus balsamifera L. var. subcordata Hyl. — F. Basionym: Populus balsamifera L. 1753

Links to other floras: = Populus balsamifera - FNA7

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACW
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACW
• Great Plains: FACW
• Midwest: FACW
• Northcentral & Northeast: FACW

Heliophily ⓘ: 5