Carmen Gaebe
Staff Writer
The state of Kansas, 1937, designated the Cottonwood as its official state tree. The legislation did not specify a specific species but it’s the Eastern Cottonwood, scientific name Populus deltoides, and its subspecies the Plains Cottonwood, Populus deltoides monilifera, that call the Sunflower State home. The Kansas State Legislature called the tree “the pioneer of the prairie,” stating that the successful growth of a cottonwood grove was to determine whether a homesteader would stick it out on their claim. It’s a large, fast-growing tree native to huge swaths of the U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains usually found near bodies of water. They typically grow to be about 60 to 200 feet tall, with a massive, deeply furrowed trunk, often reaching nine feet in diameter. Its flower appears in the form of long catkins that come in early spring with the males a reddish-purple color and the females green. Seed capsules appear in early summer, which split open to release numerous tiny seeds attached to cotton-like strands which give the tree its name, and contrary to popular belief, it’s the aforementioned catkins and their pollen that trigger seasonal allergies, not these cottony seeds. The Eastern Cottonwood has a host of traditional indigenous uses: its fragrant buds can be used to make an antiseptic salve that’s great for your skin. The bark contains salicin and thus has some pain-killing properties. The bark and leaves are both used to treat wounds and the buds can also be used to make red, yellow, and purple dye. Cottonwood wood is brittle and soft and generally regarded as low value. It’s primarily used to make boxes and crates of plywood and paper. It’s also famous for having a sour odor when green, but as the wood dries out the color returns to tan.