Leaves are alternate, simple, single toothed, triangle shaped.
The cottonwood is a large, relatively short-lived tree with a wide, spreading
crown and a large straight trunk. It sometimes reaches a height of 100 to
130 feet and a diameter of 5 to 6 feet. It is found over all of Iowa on moist
bottomlands and along streams and rivers, but it will grow on almost any
of our soils.
The leaf is simple, triangular in shape, with a pointed tip and a rather square base. It is rubbery textured with a coarse toothed margin, covered with soft white hairs on the underside and supported by a long, flattened stem.
The buds are large, 1/2 inch long, brown, pointed and covered with chestnut
brown, resinous scales. The twigs are coarse and brittle. The fruit is a catkin
with capsules containing light brown cottony seeds from which the tree gets
its name. These cottony hairs carry the seed for long distances on air currents.
On young stems and branches, the bark is light grayish green, breaking
up into heavy ridges and becoming ashy gray to dark gray on older trees.
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