Kalonka, near Łódź

The flowers are female. Native to large parts of North America; introduced to Poland at the end of XVIII century. Invasive plant! Edible plant - the sap contains a reasonable quantity of sugar and can be used as a refreshing drink or be concentrated into a syrup; inner bark raw or cooked, can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups, or be added to cereal flours when making bread, cakes; seeds after removal of wings boiled then eaten hot. Herbal plant - a tea made from the inner bark is used as an emetic. Usable plant - the heartwood is a creamy white, and is not clearly demarcated from the thick band of sapwood; the wood is soft, weak, light, close grained.