Narrowleaf cottonwood

Leaves

Form

• Narrow and willow-like
• Widest near or below the middle
• Narrowed to a wedge-shaped base

Length

• 5–9 cm

Colour

• Upper surface light yellowish-green
• Lower surface slightly paler and often resin-stained

Margin

• Finely toothed to the tip

Petiole

• Stiff, hairless
• Glandless
• Very short
• Almost circular in cross-section, but flattened near the base of the blade

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud long-pointed
• Shiny, resinous
• Lateral buds slightly smaller, diverging from the twig, with 5 scales

Length

• 6–12 mm

Colour

• Brownish

Twigs

Form

• Slender

Colour

• Yellowish-brown becoming a bright whitish or ivory by the 2nd year

Flowers

Structure

• Dioecious

Fruits

Form

• Capsules broadly ovate, tip short
• Hairless
• Splitting into 2 parts when mature

Length

• Mature seed catkins 6–8 cm
• Capsules 6–8 mm

Bark

Form

• Smooth, becoming furrowed at the base of mature trunks

Colour

• Whitish or yellowish-green

Size

Height

• To 15 m

Diameter

• To 30 cm

Tree form

Forest-grown

Crown

• Narrowly conical with ascending slender branches and the appearance of a willow

Habitat

Site

• One of the first plants to become established on new sandbars

Range

Uncommon in Canada; southwestern Saskatchewan and adjacent Alberta