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Populus deltoides - W.Bartram. ex Marshall.

Eastern Cottonwood

Author	W.Bartram. ex Marshall.	Botanical references	11, 43, 60, 200
Family	Salicaceae	Genus	Populus
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	N. America - Quebec to Florida, west to Minnesota and Texas.
Habitat	Rich moist soils, mainly along riverbanks, bottoms and rich woods[43, 227].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious Tree growing to 30m by 20m at a fast rate.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Canopy;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Inner bark; Leaves; Seed.

Inner bark[105, 161, 177, 257]. A mucilaginous texture, it is usually harvested in the spring[257]. There are no more details but inner bark is often dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereals when making bread. Seeds[105, 161, 177]. No more details are given but they are very small and would be exceedingly fiddly to collect and use. Sap - used for food[257]. Buds[105, 161, 177]. No more details are given. The leaves are rich in protein and have a greater amino-acid content than wheat, corn, rice and barley[226]. A concentrate made from them is as nourishing as meat, but can be produced faster and more cheaply[226]. Some people believe that this will become a major food source for humans[226].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Anodyne; Anthelmintic; Antiinflammatory; Antiscorbutic; Blood purifier; Febrifuge; Poultice; Tonic.

The bark contains salicin, a glycoside that probably decomposes into salicylic acid (aspirin) in the body[222, 238]. The bark is therefore anodyne, anti-inflammatory and febrifuge. It is used especially in treating rheumatism and fevers, and also to relieve the pain of menstrual cramps[238]. An infusion of the bark has been used in the treatment of whooping cough and tuberculosis[257]. A decoction of the bark has been used to rid the body of intestinal worms[257]. The bark has been eaten as a treatment for colds[257]. A tea made from the inner bark is used in the treatment of scurvy[222]. The inner bark, combined with black haw bark (Crataegus douglasii) and wild plum bark (Prunus spp) has been used as a female tonic[222, 257]. A poultice of the leaves has been used as a treatment for rheumatism, bruises, sores and boils[257].

Other Uses

Biomass; Dye; Pioneer; Rooting hormone; Shelterbelt; Soil stabilization; Wood.

An extract of the shoots can be used as a rooting hormone for all types of cuttings. It is extracted by soaking the chopped up shoots in cold water for a day[172]. Various dyes can be obtained from the leaf buds in the spring - green, white, yellow, purple and red have been mentioned[257]. Trees are planted for dune fixing in erosion control programmes[149, 227]. They are also good pioneer species, growing quickly to provide a good habitat for other woodland trees and eventually being out-competed by those trees[229]. A fairly wind resistant tree, it can be grown as part of a shelterbelt planting[200, 269]. Another report says that it is easily storm-damaged[227]. The wood has been used as a bio-mass for producing methanol, which can be used to power internal combustion engines[226]. Annual yields of 7 tonnes of oven-dry material per year have been achieved[269]. Wood - weak, soft, rather woolly in texture, without smell or taste, of low flammability, not durable, very resistant to abrasion but warps and shrinks badly[11, 149, 171, 227]. It weighs 24lb per cubic foot[235]. The wood takes paint well, is easy to glue and nail[227]. It is used principally for lumber, pulp, crates, veneer etc[11, 149, 171].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, it does well in a heavy cold damp soil[1, 269] but thrives best on moist well-drained, fine sandy loams or silts close to streams[269]. Prefers a deep rich well-drained circumneutral soil, growing best in the south and east of Britain[11, 200]. Growth is much less on wet soils, on poor acid soils and on thin dry soils[11]. It does not do well in exposed upland sites[11]. It dislikes shade and is intolerant of root or branch competition[200]. Tolerates both hot and cool summers[200]. Fairly wind-tolerant[200]. The tree is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 60 to 150cm, an annual temperature in the range of 8 to 14°C, and a pH of 4.5 to 8[269]. A fast-growing but short-lived tree[227, 229, 274]. It can make new shoots up to 1.5 metres long each year[274] and is often planted for timber in Europe[50]. It does have drawbacks, though, since it is easily storm-damaged, is easily damaged by fire when young and is much attacked by fungi[227]. Like the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) the leaves of this species rustle even in light breezes[274]. The trees can be coppiced[149], sprouting freely from the base of the trunk and the roots if they are cut down[227]. Poplars have very extensive and aggressive root systems that can invade and damage drainage systems. Especially when grown on clay soils, they should not be planted within 12 metres of buildings since the root system can damage the building's foundations by drying out the soil[11]. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[200].

Propagation

Seed - must be sown as soon as it is ripe in spring[113]. Poplar seed has an extremely short period of viability and needs to be sown within a few days of ripening[200]. Surface sow or just lightly cover the seed in trays in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the old frame. If sufficient growth is made, it might be possible to plant them out in late summer into their permanent positions, otherwise keep them in the cold frame until the following late spring and then plant them out. Most poplar species hybridize freely with each other, so the seed may not come true unless it is collected from the wild in areas with no other poplar species growing[11]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 20 - 40cm long, November/December in a sheltered outdoor bed or direct into their permanent positions. Very easy. Suckers in early spring[78].

Links

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Fairly readable, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest. 0
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

[274] Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999 ISBN 1-889878-01-4
An excellent flora, which is also available on-line.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Populus deltoides

Jennifer Schneider Tue Jul 21 2009

Where can I buy these? Populus deltoides Bartram ex Marshall (including P. x canadensis Moench) Eastern or Carolina Cottonwood

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