Tag: Cottonwood

Populus section Aegiros is a section of three species in the genus Populus, the poplars. Commonly known as cottonwoods, the species are native to North America, Europe and western Asia. In the past, as many as six species were recognized, but recent trends have been to accept just three species, treating the others as subspecies of P. deltoides.
They are large, deciduous trees 20–45 m tall, distinguished by thick, deeply fissured bark and triangular-based to diamond-shaped leaves that are green on both sides (without the whitish wax on the undersides of balsam poplar leaves) and without any obvious balsam scent in spring. An important feature of the leaves is the petiole, which is flattened sideways so that the leaves have a particular type of movement in the wind.
Male and female flowers are in separate catkins, appearing before the leaves in spring. The seeds are borne on cottony structures that allow them to be blown long distances in the air before settling to ground.
The…