Eastern Cottonwood

Description:

The trees in the genus Populus are found on a number of different continents, often found on floodplains where their thick corky bark protects them from spring flooding and the scouring effects of floating ice, at least in places where ice is a problem. Leaves are heart-shaped and toothed along the edges. Glossy green.

Habitat:

Often found along rivers and in floodplain forests.

Notes:

The Mississippi River often floods immersing the lower trunks of these fast growing trees in floodwaters. Erosion along the heavily-boated Mississippi through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul erodes the soil away from the roots during floods.