Cottonwood

The tree can grow to a height of 80 to 100 feet with a trunk of 4 or more feet in diameter. The coarsely toothed leaf blade is a broad triangle, usually 2 to 4 inches long and 2 to 4 inches wide. Its long petioled (stemmed) leaves flutter in the slightest breeze reflecting sunlight and creating a delicate sound. A deciduous tree, the leaves turn yellow in the fall. The female tree sends out cotton (seeds in a cotton-like wrapping) in the spring.