Plant Description
Tall, upright form with a broad, flat-topped crown. Hybridizes with Populus angustifolia to produce Populus xhinkleyana and with Populus tricocarpa to produce Populus parryi. May have a lifespan of more than 130 years.
Large tree, open crown, whitish bark deeply furrows with age. Leaf blades as wide or wider than long, stems flat, triangular, coarsely and irregularly toothed, smooth and bright green. Long catkins; each flower subtended by a deep cup-shaped disc.
Habitat
Found along streams and in wet or intermittently wet areas in woodlands and forests.
Leaves
Shiny, broadly triangular and pointed to 2-1/2 inches long by 3 inches wide with coarsely toothed margins. Base of leaf is nearly straight. In autumn leaves turn golden yellow before falling.
Flowers
Male and female flowers on separate trees; borne on long, slender loosely flowered catkins. Each tiny flower is subtended by a deeply cup-shaped disc.
Fruit
Small egg-shaped capsules each split into 2 to 4 parts to disseminate numerous, small fuzzy, white cottony seeds.