What is a cotton-wood tree?

Question

My neighbor has a tree behind his barn that he calls a "cotton-wood tree." I've been noticing lately that there are alot of tiny puffs of cotton floating through the air. I was wondering if these puffs of cotton could be linked to his tree? I can't see the tree, but they do come from that general area. Does this cotton actually come from his cotton-wood tree or am I just taking it to literally?

Answer 1

Have a look to the second pic from the end of site and you see the "cotton":

http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Tr...

And here some info about the tree, if you are interested in:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottonwood

Answer 2

Yes , they come from his cotton- wood tree.

Answer 3

Try this link for more information about cottonwoods.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottonwood

They are fast growing rather fragile hardwood trees.  They are often planted in new developments because they grow fast and provide shade quickly.  However, the trees tend to be "self-pruning" by dropping small branches that have been shaded out by the growth of bigger branches.  They are susceptible to root rot caused by a soil fungus so you may have to remove a very large tree at considerable cost!  Where I grew up in Wyoming, cottonwoods were common on the river flood plain.  In the spring or early summer, it would look like it was snowing there would be some much of the cotton fluff (contains the seeds of the trees) floating in the air and collecting on the grass and shrubs!

Answer 4

Scientific Name: Populus deltoides

Cottonwoods can be either male or female.  It is the fluffy white seeds produced by the females during early summer that give the tree its name. The seeds are contained in cottony masses, easily airborne.

The cottonwoods are three species of poplars in the section Aegiros of the genus Populus, native to North America, Europe and western Asia.