Cottonwood, Eastern

Here we have the Eastern Cottonwood, or Populus deltoides, renowned for its rapid growth rate—5 to 6 feet per year—the fastest of any native tree. It is the largest poplar in the eastern United States, commonly reaching 100 feet tall or more. Despite its impressive size, it's short-lived, typically around 70 years, rarely exceeding 150 years. The tree features tall, clear, massive trunks with tannish gray, thick, ridged bark separated by deep fissures. Young trees reveal whitish inner bark between these fissures. Its leaves are approximately 6 inches long, triangular with coarsely round-toothed edges, light green, smooth, and shiny on top. Flowers bloom in late March and April as dangling catkins, with red male flowers and yellowish-green female flowers. The fruit matures in May and June, forming clusters of small capsules that split open to release numerous tiny seeds attached to fluffy white hairs, resembling cotton. This cotton-like fluff, which you often see flying around in May and June, helps disperse the seeds of the Eastern Cottonwood by wind.