The white poplar has a very pale grey trunk which contrasts with the black marks that show through. The foliage grows and leans to one side at the top, all of which gives it a silvery hue due to the white down on the leaves. They live on riverbanks, almost touching the water, interspersed with elm, ash and poplar. The most abundant white poplar at the Zoo is a cultivated variety not found in the wild, Populus alba 'Pyramidalis', which has a fusiform trunk as shown in the photograph.

The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and most of the Zoo's primates love eating the leaves and shoots of this tree.