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The cottonwoods are poplars in the section Aegiros of the genus Populus.

It also commonly refers to any species of poplar in the United States, including some poplars not in the section Aegiros, notably the Swamp cottonwood Populus heterophylla (in the section Leucoides) and the Black cottonwood Populus trichocarpa (a balsam poplar in the section Tacamahaca).

The Eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides, is one of the larger North American hardwood trees, although the wood is rather soft. It is a riparian zone tree.

The leaves are alternate and simple, with coarsely-toothed (crenate/serrate) edges, and subcordate at the base. Leaf shape is roughly triangular, hence the species name, deltoides. An important feature of the leaves is the stem which is flattened sideways, so that the leaves have a particular type of movement in the wind. Some other Populus species such as the aspenAspen Quaking Aspen grove Scientific classification : Plantae : Magnoliophyta : Magnoliopsida : Salicales : Salicaceae : Populus : Populus See text Aspens are trees of the willow family and comprise a section of the poplar genus Populus sect. Populus''.s (Populus section Populus) share this characteristic.

Male and female flowerA flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms ( flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). The function of a flower is to produce seeds through sexual reproduction''. For the higher plants, seeds are the next generation, ands are in separate catkin s, appearing before the leaves in spring. The seeds are borne on cottonCotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant. The fibre is most often spun into thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. Cotton is a valuable crop because only about 10% of the raw weight is lost in processing. Once try structures which allow them to be blown long distances in the air before settling to ground.

The cottonwoods are exceptionally tolerant of flooding, erosionErosion is the displacement of solids ( soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, or movement in response to gravity. Although the processes may be simultaneous, erosion is to be distinguished from weathering, which is the decompos and filling around the trunk. They are also able to grow in moister areas on the Great PlainsThe Great Plains or High Plains are the elevated plains which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States of America and Canada, covering the states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and No where most other trees cannot grow. A traveling salesman once planted a cottonwood seedling in the middle of one of the upper plains states, many miles from the next nearest tree, and watered it on his route every week. The tree survived and, once its roots were able to penetrate the water table, needed no further watering and lived for many years.