SafePlants

No images found for this plant ID: 35128.

Ensure images are uploaded to the Media Library and tagged with "35128" in the "plant_image_tag" taxonomy.

Safe for Children?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Dogs?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Cats?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

Safe for Reptiles?

✅ Safe: 0
❓ Neutral: 0
❌ Unsafe: 0

narrowleaf cottonwood

Scientific Name: Populus angustifolia

Family: Salicaceae

Category: Dicot

Growth: Tree

Duration: Perennial

Other Names:

       

Narrowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia)

The Narrowleaf Cottonwood, scientifically known as Populus angustifolia, is a species of poplar tree recognized by several common names, including willow-leaved poplar, mountain cottonwood, Rydberg cottonwood, and smooth-bark cottonwood.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

  • Scientific Name: Populus angustifolia James
  • Family: Salicaceae (Willow or Poplar family)
  • Synonym: Narrowleaf balsam poplar

Distribution and Habitat

  • Native to the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions.
  • Found from southern British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan south to south-central California, Texas, and Chihuahua, Mexico.
  • Common along foothill and montane streams such as the Dolores and Animas Rivers in Colorado.
  • Often one of the first species to grow on alluvial surfaces.
  • Grows at higher elevations, up to 10,000 feet.
  • Frequently found in narrow groves lining western rivers.

Morphological Characteristics

  • Deciduous tree growing to 30 meters (98 feet 5 inches) at a fast rate.
  • Can grow to 60 feet (18 meters) in height with a trunk of 3 feet (0.9 meters) in diameter.
  • Has a narrow, conical crown of slender, upright branches.
  • Slender branches form a dense, upright, oval shape.
  • Leaves are lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 2 to 5 inches long and 0.5 to 1 inch wide, finely serrated, and often have a very short, partially flattened petiole.
  • Leaves are bright green, turning rich yellow in the fall.
  • Resinous, balsam-scented buds.
  • Bark is less deeply furrowed than other cottonwoods.

Ecological Role

  • Dominant tree species along many foothill and montane streams.
  • Important species in Western Riverine forest types.

Uses

  • Wood is susceptible to decay.

Quirky Facts

  • The Narrowleaf Cottonwood is the cottonwood tree of the Colorado Rockies.
  • Ferdinand Hayden identified this tree as "bitter cottonwood" with the Arapaho.
  • One champion Narrowleaf Cottonwood of Colorado was included on the list of American Forests Champion Trees in 2014, recognized as the largest known tree of its kind.

Interactions with Other Organisms

  • Subject to morphometric analysis of petiole galls caused by the sugarbeet root aphid, Pemphigus.

Further Information

  • University of California Museum of Paleontology
  • Colorado Tree Coalition