What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on Twitter on 9 June 2022.

Special ‘unintentional advertising for Kaufland’ edition: Osiková, a relative newbie built in 1976.

An osika is an aspen tree, or ‘Populus tremula’. It’s a tree from the willow family.

Other Czech names for the tree are topol osika (aspen poplar) or osika obecná (common aspen).

I’m no tree expert, but apparently these ones grow well in poor soil, are important for beekeeping, and can be used to make food packaging or sauna cabins. So there.

Also, as their leaves vibrate in the wind, we have the expression třese se jako osika (shake like an aspen): https://www.zoopraha.cz/flora/listnate-dreviny/10658-topol-osika-zvany-osika.