Populus fremontii
Common name: 
Fremont Cottonwood
Western Cottonwood
Pronunciation: 
pop-U-lus free-MONT-e-i
Family: 
Salicaceae
Genus: 
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Broadleaf deciduous tree, fast growing to 40-60 ft (12-18 m), may reach 100 ft (30 m), broad, rounded or cylindrical crown, bark is smooth on the trunk and branches of young trees, but becomes deeply furrowed at maturity.  Leaves alternate, simple, broad oval-rounded to rhombic or triangular, 7-8 cm long, broader than long, short acuminate tip, base wedge-shaped to cordate, margin with course teeth, petiole yellow and flattened, upper leaf surface shiny yellow-green, sometimes pubescent beneath, may turn lemon-yellow in fall; in mild areas they may remain on the tree for much of the winter.  Dioecious - male and female plants.  Male flowers in catkins about 4-8 cm long, female catkins about 10-12 cm long, and produce cottony seeds which are considered a nuisance.
  • Sun, prefers moist situations, tolerates inundation and siltation.  Avoid female trees.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 5     Native range from western Texas west through New Mexico, Arizona, and California, northward into Nevada and Utah, and southward in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of Mexico, common at desert waterholes or along streams.
  • fremontii: in honor of John Charles Frémont (1813-1880), solider, explorer and naturalist of the western U.S. He was the first botanists to collect in the Sierra Nevada. He was one of the first two U.S. Senators from California and was governor of the Arizona Territory (1878-1882).
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  • plant habit, in habitat

    plant habit, in habitat

  • plant habit, in landscapes

    plant habit, in landscapes

  • foliage

    foliage

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaves

    leaves

  • leaf margin and petiole

    leaf margin and petiole

  • leaves and young female flower clusters

    leaves and young female flower clusters

  • trunk, bark

    trunk, bark

  • old trunk, bark

    old trunk, bark