Lone Poplar Protected Area, Natural monument near Har-Buluk village, Kalmykia, Russia

The Lone Poplar protected area covers a single laurel-leaved poplar and the springs that break out at its foot on the southern slope of the Khamur ridge, 5 km from Khar-Buluk. The tree measured 20 m tall with a trunk about 1.44 m across. In July 2025 a gust brought down its last large branch, leaving a large stump from which young shoots are growing.

The poplar was planted in 1846 by the Buddhist monk Purdash Lam, according to one account, or in the late 1880s by forester Leonty Dikansky, according to another. In 2017 dendrochronology established its age at 101 years. The Council of Ministers of the Kalmyk ASSR designated it a natural monument on 8 October 1981 by decree No. 473.

The poplar is a site of Buddhist worship. In August 2013 a stupa and eight white rectangular stone pedestals were set up beside it, and the stupas were raised on the pedestals that October, when the shrine was opened. The tree is entered in the National Register of Old-Age Trees of Russia under No. 390.

The protected area is accessible to visitors through walking paths that lead to the tree and the springs. These marked routes help you explore the natural surroundings while keeping the sensitive site intact.

In 2019 the poplar won Russia's Tree of the Year contest, chosen by public vote among 12 nominees, and in 2020 it took third place in the European Tree of the Year competition. The tree is listed as No. 390 in Russia's National Register of Old-Growth Trees. In July 2025 a gust of wind felled its last large branch, leaving a huge stump from which young shoots have begun to grow.