Eastern cottonwood

Populus deltoides

''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States, the southernmost part of eastern Canada, and northeastern Mexico. It is a dicot.
Eastern Cottonwood - Populus deltoides Every year during late May, the cottonwood trees spread their seeds through the wind. This process can be so intense that it appears to be snowing, and piles of fluffy, white seeds pile up everywhere! This photo shows what the leaves look like in the autumn, once they have fallen off the trees. Habitat: We have a LOT of cottonwood trees in my town. This photo was taken on the bank of a river, which was crowded with sycamore and cottonwood leaves. Eastern cottonwood,Fall,Geotagged,Populus deltoides,United States,cottonwood,fall foliage,populus

Appearance

''Populus deltoides'' is a large tree growing to 20–40 m tall and with a trunk up to 1.8 m diameter, one of the largest North American hardwood trees. The bark is silvery-white, smooth or lightly fissured when young, becoming dark gray and deeply fissured on old trees. The twigs are grayish-yellow and stout, with large triangular leaf scars. The winter buds are slender, pointed, 1–2 cm long , yellowish brown, and resinous. It is one of the fastest growing trees in North America. In Mississippi River bottoms, height growth of 10-15 ft per year for a few years are possible. Sustained height growth of 5 feet height growth and 1 inch diameter growth per year for 25 years is common.

The leaves are large, deltoid , 4–10 cm long and 4–11 cm broad with a truncated base and a petiole 3–12 cm long. The leaf is very coarsely toothed, the teeth are curved and gland tipped, and the petiole is flat; they are dark green in the summer and turn yellow in the fall . Due to the flat stem of the leaf, the leaf has the tendency to shake from even the slightest breeze. This is one of the identifying characteristics.

It is dioecious, with the flowers produced on single-sex trees in early spring. The male catkins are reddish-purple and 8–10 cm long; the female catkins are green, 7–13 cm long at pollination, maturing 15–20 cm long with several 6–15 mm seed capsules in early summer, which split open to release the numerous small seeds attached to cotton-like strands.
Eastern Cottonwood - Populus deltoides Every year during late May, the cottonwood trees spread their seeds through the wind. This process can be so intense that it appears to be snowing, and piles of fluffy, white seeds pile up everywhere! The release of the fluffy cotton seeds are a sign that pollination is over. Supposedly, this tree and its seeds are a very mild allergen and once pollination has occured, the threat of an allergic reaction has passed. I can attest that this is totally untrue because I'm allergic to this tree and breathing in the fluff is no fun. I didn't see the actual tree, and since I'm allergic, I only dared to snap a few shots of the white fluff before directing my hike elsewhere. As you can see in this shot, the entire trail is COVERED in cottonwood seeds! https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62880/eastern_cottonwood_-_populus_deltoides.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62877/eastern_cottonwood_-_populus_deltoides.html Eastern cottonwood,Geotagged,Populus deltoides,Spring,United States

Habitat

It needs bare soil and full sun for successful germination and establishment; in natural conditions, it usually grows near rivers, with mud banks left after floods providing ideal conditions for seedling germination; human soil cultivation has allowed it to increase its range away from such habitats.

The leaves serve as food for caterpillars of various Lepidoptera .
Eastern Cottonwood - Populus deltoides Every year during late May, the cottonwood trees spread their seeds through the wind. This process can be so intense that it appears to be snowing, and piles of fluffy, white seeds pile up everywhere! The release of the fluffy cotton seeds are a sign that pollination is over. Supposedly, this tree and its seeds are a very mild allergen and once pollination has occured, the threat of an allergic reaction has passed. I can attest that this is totally untrue because I'm allergic to this tree and breathing in the fluff is no fun. I didn't see the actual tree, and since I'm allergic, I only dared to snap a few shots of the white fluff before directing my hike elsewhere. https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62879/eastern_cottonwood_-_populus_deltoides.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62880/eastern_cottonwood_-_populus_deltoides.html Eastern cottonwood,Geotagged,Populus deltoides,Spring,United States

Cultural

A high frequency direct plant regeneration protocol has been described by Rakesh Yadav et al., 2009.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderMalpighiales
FamilySalicaceae
GenusPopulus
SpeciesP. deltoides
Photographed in
United States of America