The objective of this study is to analyse the phytosociological characteristics of riverside black poplar forests on the flood plain of the Drava River (southwestern Hungary) by means of 25 relevés. Based on the results of traditional analyses (vegetation structure and attributes of constituent species), their ecological niche and place in plant succession, those streamside forests can be identified with the plant association Carduo crispi-Populetum nigrae described from the Szigetköz region (northwestern Hungary). Stands of this association develop from purple willow scrubs (Rumici crispi-Salicetum purpureae), and are located at an elevation about one and a half meters lower than those of its successor vegetation unit, the white poplar association (Senecioni sarracenici-Populetum albae).