Cottonwood is a group of large, spreading poplar trees that grow in the United States. These trees grow quickly and make good shade trees, but they are short-lived. Early in spring, their small, greenish flowers droop in long clusters called catkins and form masses of cottony seeds. The shiny green leaves are shaped like a triangle and have wavy, toothed edges. The thick, dull gray bark of the cottonwood tree splits into ridges and long furrows. Cottonwood trees grow in moist soils, especially along rivers.
The eastern cottonwood grows throughout the eastern regions of the United States. Black cottonwood, the tallest western broadleaf tree, grows along the Pacific Coast. The whitish or light brown wood of these trees is soft and weak. Manufacturers use it for boxes and crates, woodenware, luggage interiors, furniture, pulpwood, and excelsior (wood shavings used as packing material). Several other types of cottonwoods are used as windbreaks or ornamental trees, but they are not commercially important. Cottonwood is the state tree of Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.
