Grooved grey bark of the Eastern Cottonwood tree next to Hingston Hall on the Loyola campus. Photo credit: Katya Tavitian
Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoids; Peuplier deltoïde) is a tall native deciduous that can be found in the Montreal area and in southern Ontario (Government of Canada, 2015). It grows fairly quickly and can be quite tall.
Cottonwoods are generally identified by the soft white fluff that serves to disperse the seeds on the wind (Missouri Botanical Garden, n.d). When the seeds are dispersing, they can cover the ground like summer snow.
The leaves are deltoid-shaped (hence their name) (Government of Canada, 2015) and turn yellow in the fall (Missouri Botanical Garden, n.d), and the bark of a mature cottonwood is deeply grooved and textured.
While the tree might be appropriate as a shade tree, it is usually not planted as an ornamental due to the summer snow effect. However, all-male cultivars are sometimes planted ornamentally because they do not produce seeds.
One of the oldest and largest trees on the Loyola campus is a cottonwood. Located between Hingston Hall and the gardens, this graceful tree was last measured at 106 cm in diameter at breast height; based on a growth factor of 2.0 for this species (Purcell, 2018), that makes this tree about 83 years old. According to the iTree model, this tree likely results in an electricity savings of about 45 kWh/year (mostly due to savings in cooling), currently stores over 4300 kg of carbon, and takes up (sequesters) the equivalent of about 450 kg of carbon dioxide every year, or close to 10% of the annual emissions of the average car (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2023). It also provides habitat for birds, squirrels, and insects, filters the air and water, and provides countless other ecosystem services.
References
- Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada. (2015). Eastern Cottonwood. Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/factsheet/54
- Missouri Botanical Garden. (n.d.). Populus deltoides- Plant Finder. Missouri Botanical Garden Retrieved April 02, 2023, from https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a894
- Purcell, L. (2018). How old is my tree? Purdue University Landscape Report, 18-04. https://www.purduelandscapereport.org/article/how-old-is-my-tree/
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (2023). Tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions from a typical passenger vehicle. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-05/420f23014.pdf.
Tree canopy of the Eastern Cottonwood next to Hingston Hall on the Loyola campus. Photo credit: Katya Tavitian