Talent Station 10: A Worthy Tree, Live or Dead
THE TALL TREE with the craggy bark is black cottonwood, the tallest native cottonwood in the United States. Black cottonwood is an extremely fast-growing tree that is found where its roots can locate water all year. Its winged seeds are short-lived unless they find moist soil in which to sprout. Its sticky, aromatic buds are especially pungent in the spring, giving the riparian area its characteristic fragrance. It has edible fruits called catkins, and the wood has been used for smoking fish. In winter, look for its heart-shaped leaves on the ground. Because of its rapid growth and short life cycle, many of the dead trees along the Greenway are cottonwoods. These standing dead trees, called snags, are important wildlife habitat. Wood softened by rot is more accessible to birds, insects, and animals. The holes in this snag were drilled by woodpeckers.
