Eastern Cottonwood, Plains cottonwood, Rio Grande cottonwood, Necklace Poplar
Populus deltoides
Family: Salicaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Red, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Oval.
Populus deltoides is a deciduous Tree growing to 30 m (98ft) by 20 m (65ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 2. It is in flower from March to April, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Wind. The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 30
Where it is found
Rich moist soils, mainly along riverbanks, bottoms and rich woods.
N. America - Quebec to Florida, west to Minnesota and Texas.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Inner bark. A mucilaginous texture, it is usually harvested in the spring. There are no more details but inner bark is often dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereals when making bread. Seeds. No more details are given but they are very small and would be exceedingly fiddly to collect and use. Sap - used for food. Buds. No more details are given. The leaves are rich in protein and have a greater amino-acid content than wheat, corn, rice and barley. A concentrate made from them is as nourishing as meat, but can be produced faster and more cheaply. Some people believe that this will become a major food source for humans.
Inner bark: the bark that is found just beneath the tough outer bark of trees and shrubs.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Medicine
Rating: 2
The bark contains salicin, a glycoside that probably decomposes into salicylic acid (aspirin) in the body. The bark is therefore anodyne, anti-inflammatory and febrifuge. It is used especially in treating rheumatism and fevers, and also to relieve the pain of menstrual cramps. An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of whooping cough and tuberculosis. A decoction of the bark has been used to rid the body of intestinal worms. The bark has been eaten as a treatment for colds. A tea made from the inner bark is used in the treatment of scurvy. The inner bark, combined with black haw bark (Crataegus douglasii) and wild plum bark (Prunus spp) has been used as a female tonic. A poultice of the leaves has been used as a treatment for rheumatism, bruises, sores and boils.
Anodyne: Relieves pain, it is milder than an analgesic.
Anthelmintic: Expels parasites from the gut.
Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.
Antiscorbutic: A plant rich in vitamin C that is used to counteract scurvy.
Blood purifier: Purifies the blood.
Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.
Other
Rating: 4
An extract of the shoots can be used as a rooting hormone for all types of cuttings. It is extracted by soaking the chopped up shoots in cold water for a day. Various dyes can be obtained from the leaf buds in the spring - green, white, yellow, purple and red have been mentioned. Trees are planted for dune fixing in erosion control programmes. They are also good pioneer species, growing quickly to provide a good habitat for other woodland trees and eventually being out-competed by those trees. A fairly wind resistant tree, it can be grown as part of a shelterbelt planting. Another report says that it is easily storm-damaged. The wood has been used as a bio-mass for producing methanol, which can be used to power internal combustion engines. Annual yields of 7 tonnes of oven-dry material per year have been achieved. Wood - weak, soft, rather woolly in texture, without smell or taste, of low flammability, not durable, very resistant to abrasion but warps and shrinks badly. It weighs 24lb per cubic foot. The wood takes paint well, is easy to glue and nail. It is used principally for lumber, pulp, crates, veneer etc.
Biomass: Provides a large quantity of plant material that can be converted into fuel etc.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Pioneer: Plants, usually trees and shrubs, that can be used to reforest land.
Rooting hormone: Substances that can be used to promote the production of roots in plant cuttings.
Shelterbelt: Wind resistant plants than can be grown to provide shelter in the garden etc.
Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.
Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.
Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels
Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.
Other Systems: Irreg. Intercrop: Irregular intercropping systems are trees scattered throughout cropland.
Other Systems: Strip intercrop: Tree crops grown in rows with alternating annual crops.
Industrial Crop: Biomass: Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels
Management: Coppice: Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon.
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Minor Global Crop: These crops are already grown or traded around the world, but on a smaller scale than the global perennial staple and industrial crops, The annual value of a minor global crop is under $1 billion US. Examples include shea, carob, Brazil nuts and fibers such as ramie and sisal.
Other Systems: Irreg. Intercrop: Irregular intercropping systems are trees scattered throughout cropland.
Other Systems: Strip intercrop: Tree crops grown in rows with alternating annual crops.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Erosion control, Aggressive surface roots possible. An easily grown plant, it does well in a heavy cold damp soil but thrives best on moist well-drained, fine sandy loams or silts close to streams. Prefers a deep rich well-drained circumneutral soil, growing best in the south and east of Britain. Growth is much less on wet soils, on poor acid soils and on thin dry soils. It does not do well in exposed upland sites. It dislikes shade and is intolerant of root or branch competition. Tolerates both hot and cool summers. Fairly wind-tolerant. The tree is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 60 to 150cm, an annual temperature in the range of 8 to 14°C, and a pH of 4.5 to 8. A fast-growing but short-lived tree. It can make new shoots up to 1.5 metres long each year and is often planted for timber in Europe. It does have drawbacks, though, since it is easily storm-damaged, is easily damaged by fire when young and is much attacked by fungi. Like the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) the leaves of this species rustle even in light breezes. The trees can be coppiced, sprouting freely from the base of the trunk and the roots if they are cut down. Poplars have very extensive and aggressive root systems that can invade and damage drainage systems. Especially when grown on clay soils, they should not be planted within 12 metres of buildings since the root system can damage the building's foundations by drying out the soil. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Special Features: North American native, Naturalizing, Wetlands plant, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.
Propagating it: Seed - must be sown as soon as it is ripe in spring. Poplar seed has an extremely short period of viability and needs to be sown within a few days of ripening. Surface sow or just lightly cover the seed in trays in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the old frame. If sufficient growth is made, it might be possible to plant them out in late summer into their permanent positions, otherwise keep them in the cold frame until the following late spring and then plant them out. Most poplar species hybridize freely with each other, so the seed may not come true unless it is collected from the wild in areas with no other poplar species growing. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 20 - 40cm long, November/December in a sheltered outdoor bed or direct into their permanent positions. Very easy. Suckers in early spring.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Canopy;
Habit: Tree
Hardiness: 3-9
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist