Habitat and Range
Cottonwood loves a moist soil and tends to inhabit areas close by the water. This tree can grow on steep banks and sandy stone washes in all parts of the Sierra below 9000 ft.
Physical Description
This tree can grow up to 200 ft tall with a wide and spreading crown. The bark is white or gray and becomes deeply furrowed with age. The leaf buds are resinous and fragrant in the winter and early spring. Cottonwood leaves are ovate to lanceolate in shape with petioles that are nearly half the length of the leaf blade. The 2-6 inch leaf blade is dark green above and pale green below. The inflorescence is a catkin approximately 2-3 inches long.
Food Uses
Poplar can be used as food in several ways. The cambium (inner bark) can be eaten either raw or dried for later use and cooked like pasta. Some natives dip the cambium strips in grease to flavor them. Both the catkins and the leaf buds are great sources of Vitamin C, but the bitterness makes them hardly palatable.
Medicinal Uses
The leaf bud is traditionally used for making the "Balm of Gilead" to treat skin irritations, cuts, burns, and piles. For 2 hours, heat a combination of buds and olive oil or lard in a small pot that is placed inside a larger pot of boiling water. Remove and strain the buds for the oil and mix with drop of Vitamin E. Cottonwood leaves contain salicylic acid, which is the active ingredient in aspirin, and can help reduce pain and inflammation and can ease or prevent a heart attack.
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