Flora of North America species comparison

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Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera

Populus deltoides subsp. wislizeni
Photo is of parent taxon

eastern cottonwood, plains cottonwood, plains eastern cottonwood
Photo is of parent taxon

Rio Grande cottonwood, álamillo
Habit Plants to 40 m. Winter buds pubescent, hairs relatively short, stiff. Plants to 35 m, usually less than 20 m. Winter buds pubescent, hairs relatively short, stiff.
Leaves

blade base usually with 2 round basilaminar glands, apex long-acuminate, abaxial surface glabrous at emergence; preformed blade with (3–)7–15(–21) teeth on each side; neoformed blade lengths about equaling widths.

blade base with 0 basilaminar glands, apex short-acuminate, abaxial surface glabrous at emergence; preformed blade with (3–)5–10 teeth on each side; neoformed blade lengths usually less than widths.
Pedicels

lengths uniform, 1–6(–8 in fruit) mm.

lengths uniform, (5–)8–12(–15 in fruit) mm.
Capsules

with thin, flexible valves.

with thick, stiff valves.

Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera

Populus deltoides subsp. wislizeni
Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun; fruiting May–Jul. Flowering Mar–May; fruiting May–Jul.
Habitat Along streams and lakes, usually in mesic soils, on dunes, also cultivated Floodplains, permanent streams, near springs, usually in moist soil, often planted near ranches, irrigation ditches, in towns
Elevation 50-2200 m (200-7200 ft) 1000-2300 m (3300-7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; MI; MN; MO; MT; ND; NE; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SD; TX; WA; WI; WY; AB; MB; ON; SK
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies monilifera is the abundant cottonwood of the Great Plains and extends sparsely through the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia Plateau. It intergrades with subsp. deltoides in a band along the southeastern edge of the Great Plains to the Great Lakes region. These intermediates have longer pedicels and may have 3–5 elongate basilaminar glands. It intergrades also with subsp. wislizeni along the southwestern margin of the Great Plains, where there are plants with longer pedicels and preformed leaves with fewer teeth and without basilaminar glands.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies wislizeni is the common cottonwood of the Rio Grande and Colorado Plateau regions, where it forms relatively small, scattered groves. It is a fairly homogeneous and distinctive southwestern part of the species. It intergrades with subsp. monilifera on the eastern and northern margins of its range. Populus sargentii Dode var. texana Correll is based upon such intergrades.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 18. FNA vol. 7, p. 19.
Parent taxa Salicaceae > Populus > Populus deltoides Salicaceae > Populus > Populus deltoides
Sibling taxa
P. deltoides subsp. deltoides, P. deltoides subsp. wislizeni
P. deltoides subsp. deltoides, P. deltoides subsp. monilifera
Synonyms P. monilifera, P. besseyana, P. deltoides var. occidentalis, P. sargentii, P. sargentii var. texana P. fremontii var. wislizeni, P. wislizeni
Name authority (Aiton) Eckenwalder: J. Arnold Arbor. 58: 204. (1977) (S. Watson) Eckenwalder: J. Arnold Arbor. 58: 205. (1977)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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