The famous line "Poplar fluff, heat, July" is not an author's mistake, but our tendency to assume that everything should be the same in other climate zones.

🌿 The author of the poem is poet Mikhail Andreev. In his native Tomsk, poplar fluff indeed flies later, which is why this line was born.

🌿 Poplar fluff is not pollen, but plant seeds. The fluff, consisting of pure cellulose, serves as a "parachute" that carries seeds over long distances.

🌿 Contrary to stereotypes, it is hypoallergenic in itself, but it collects dangerous pollen from other plants.
For example, now there is still a high concentration of birch pollen, and meadow grasses are beginning to bloom.

A few interesting facts:
🌿 Sex change: Fluff is produced only by female poplar trees. However, trees have a unique ability to change sex. Under stress, heavy pruning, or poor ecology, a male tree can produce "female" catkins and start fluffing.
🌿 Green lungs: Poplar cleans the air 10 times better than birch and 4 times better than pine. One tree absorbs about 25 kilograms of soot annually and absorbs organic suspensions. The sticky and rough surface of the leaves works as a biofilter.
🌿 Unusual use: Poplar fluff is in many ways similar to cotton. Although the fibers are too short for independent spinning, they are added to woolen thread to make clothing much softer and reduce its prickliness (viscose, lyocell). Such fabrics are hypoallergenic.
🌿 Dust protection: Tall poplars were planted as natural windbreak strips to prevent soil erosion and dust storms.
🌿 Poplar is very unpretentious, grows quickly even in heavily polluted conditions, and provides dense shade.

Plant poplars on the outskirts of cities, but not on city streets.

@drakarasev