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Common Name: Plains Cottonwood

General Information

Populus deltoides monilifera is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 30.00 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Central N. America - Saskatchewan to Manitoba, south to Texas and New Mexico.

Habitat

Streamsides in the eastern foothills of the Rockies[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	30.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Wind
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

An easily grown plant that does well in a heavy cold damp soil[]. 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[].
A fast-growing but short-lived species, it reaches maturity in 40 - 50 years and rarely lives as long as 100 years[].
Like the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) the leaves of this species rustle even in light breezes[].
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[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[].

Edible Uses

Inner bark[, , ]. A pleasant sweet flavour[]. 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.
Young shoots - cooked[, , ].
The cottony fruit has been used by children as a chewing gum[]. (This almost certainly refers to the seedpods[])

Medicinal

The bark of most, if not all members of the genus contain 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[].
The seed down has been used as an absorbent dressing on open sores[].

Other Uses

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[].
A yellow dye is obtained from the seedpods[].
A yellow dye is obtained from the leaf buds[].
Wood - soft, rather woolly in texture, without smell or taste, of low flammability, not durable, very resistant to abrasion[]. It weighs about 22lb per cubic foot[] and is used for posts, veneer, baskets and fuel[].

Propagation

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, late autumn in a sheltered outdoor bed or direct into their permanent positions. Very easy.
Suckers in early spring[].