Poplar has a lighter golden tone with browns and tans. The sapwood is creamy white and may be streaked with the heartwood varying from pale yellowish brown to olive green with occasional purple mineral streaks. The green color in the heartwood will tend to darken on exposure to light and turn brown. It's generally straight-grained and "woolly" with a fine, even texture. Its texture is comparatively uniform. Even though Poplar is actually classed as a hardwood it is soft on the hardness charts.