UW Burke Herbarium species comparison

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Populus trichocarpa

black cottonwood
Habit Rough-barked, dioecious tree up to 50 m. tall; buds large, the scales very resinous, glabrous.
Leaves

Leaves alternate, the blades fragrant, strongly resinous, the lower side distinctly paler than the upper, variable in shape, 5-15 cm. long and 3-9 cm. wide, broadest below the middle, pointed at the tip and usually rounded or truncate at the base, the surfaces usually glabrous;

petioles terete, about half as long as the blade.
Flowers

Catkins drooping; the bracts subtending the flowers in the catkins lacerate-fringed; staminate catkins elongating to 2-3 cm, then deciduous; pistillate catkins at maturity 8-20 cm. long;

stigmas 2, broadly dilated.
Fruits

Capsules rotund-ovate, 5-8 mm. long, sub-sessile.

Populus trichocarpa
Flowering time April-June
Habitat Streambanks, riparian zones, river corridors, and moist woods, from sea level to middle elevations in the mountains.
Distribution
Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Alberta and Wyoming.
[WildflowerSearch map]
Origin Native
Conservation status Not of concern
Sibling taxa
P. alba, P. angustifolia, P. ×canescens, P. deltoides, P. nigra, P. tremuloides
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the University of Washington's Burke Herbarium.



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