Plains Cottonwood

Populus sargentii

Plains Cottonwood is the signature tree of the Great Plains river bottoms, the only large shade tree found naturally along streams crossing the semi-arid grasslands from the Dakotas to Texas. Vast gallery forests of cottonwood along rivers like the Missouri, Arkansas, and Republican were essential landmarks for westward travelers and provided the only wood in a treeless landscape. These riparian corridors are critical migration corridors for birds and essential habitat for many grassland-dependent wildlife species.

Habitat

River floodplains, stream banks, and canyon bottoms across the Great Plains from southern Canada to Texas.

Diet

Bark and twigs eaten by beavers, deer, and pronghorn; riparian groves support enormous numbers of migrating birds.

How common

Common

Not certain it is a Plains Cottonwood? What plant is this? walks through what to check first and the lookalikes that catch people out.