November Cottonwood

I walked along my favorite riparian area yesterday on a cloudy and gray afternoon.
Under our current drought conditions Piney Creek has all but dried up, and
low-lying marshy areas have contracted.

Tracing the course of the creek are stands of cottonwood trees
with thick trunks and irregular, branching crowns.
These huge trees are one of the most common trees in Colorado.
Cottonwoods are found along creeks, riverbanks, and lakes;
and, in some places, they are the only large trees to be seen.

Yesterday one tree I have walked past hundreds of times called to me.
I had never approached it because it stood far from the path across some big, wet spaces.
But the sedges and horsetails are shriveled up now,
and I found myself jumping across Piney Creek to answer the tree's call.

It didn't look like much as I came closer.
Boy was I in for a surprise!

What you could see from the trail were only some smaller branches 

sticking out from a big trunk that lay twisted and broken on the ground.

When I first came to Colorado and saw cottonwoods, 

I thought they must be very old because they were so big.  

These trees can reach a height of 150 feet (46 meters), 

and their trunks can be 7 or 8 feet (2.1 - 2.4 meters) in diameter.

But I was wrong.  

They are short-lived, generally surviving 50 to 100 years.  

Earlier this summer  Colorado's  biggest and oldest cottonwood tree was declared dead.

Its life may have begun before Colorado became a state in 1876, 

only 136 years ago.

Cottonwood trees grow very quickly, 

as much as five feet in height

and an inch or more in diameter in a single year!

Perfect cottonwoods are hard to find.  

They often have broken branches, 

may have toppled over in strong wind, 

or suffered damage from lightning strikes.

But each one is unique,

and this one was a magnificent tree full of surprising shapes and textures!

I kept walking around and around the tree, amazed at its unexpected size and character.

I came home with over 80 photos of this one tree,

a rugged specimen of plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera). 

The most noticeable feature of the plains cottonwood is its bark.

When the tree is young its bark is smooth and colored silvery-white; 

but as it ages, light fissures appear and then deepen to form gray ridges and furrows.

This thick, corky, corrugated bark helps cottonwood trees to withstand fires.

Another important feature of the plains cottonwood is its leaves.  

Deltoides is this cottonwood's species name and refers to the triangular shape of its leaves, 

which are 1.6 - 3.9 inches (4 - 10 cm.) long and1.6 - 4.3 inches (4 - 11 cm.) wide.

The leaf has a flat stem which causes it to quiver in the lightest breezes.

In the summer the leaves are a dark green.

In the fall they turn to a beautiful bright yellow.

Under drought conditions the leaves turn a dull gold.

Cottonwood trees are dioecious, which means that individual trees are male or female.  

In early spring you can tell the sex of a cottonwood tree by the color of the catkins it produces.

Male trees produce maroon catkins, while

female trees produce green catkins.

In early summer it is obvious why the trees are called cottonwoods. 

The air is filled and the ground is littered with countless tiny seeds attached to fluffy cotton-like threads.

It is hard to believe that such a huge tree comes from such a tiny seed!

The cottonwood can have multiple stout trunks and 

many large, heavy limbs that give it the appearance of great strength;

but its wood is quite soft, and it can decay quickly on the ground.

There is a good chance something lives in that hole, but I wasn't about to check it out!

Cottonwood trees provide food and shelter for many living organisms.

A line of cottonwood trees in the distance was a welcome site to travelers on the plains because it meant shade and water.

I've taken many pictures of the cottonwood trees along Piney Creek 

because they are compelling in any season.

I'm glad I answered this tree's call.

Of course, I'll be visiting it again.

I just have to know:  Is it male or female?

Until next time!