Populus fremontii

S. Watson

Fremot's cottonwood

Salicaceae Edible: Fruit, Flowers, Bark, Catkins 23,873 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Populus fremontii, commonly known as Frémont's cottonwood, is a cottonwood native to riparian zones of the Southwestern United States and northern through central Mexico. It is one of three species in Populus sect. Aigeiros. The tree was named after 19th-century American explorer and pathfinder John C. Frémont.

Description

Fast-growing deciduous tree reaching 25 m tall. Flowers March to April; seeds ripen in April. Dioecious, wind-pollinated, not self-fertile; both sexes required for seed. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage, including very alkaline soils. Requires full sun and adapts to dry or moist conditions. Hardy to UK zone 7.

Edible Uses

The catkins can be eaten raw or cooked as a snack. The young green seedpods have been chewed as a gum. The inner bark is also edible — while no further preparation details are given specifically for this species, inner bark is commonly dried, ground into a powder, and used as a thickener in soups or added to cereals when making bread.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are eaten or chewed like gum. The flowers are eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The inner bark was consumed by various native North American tribes to prevent scurvy. Like most members of the genus, the bark contains salicin, a glycoside that probably decomposes into salicylic acid (aspirin) in the body, giving it anodyne, anti-inflammatory, and febrifuge properties. It is used especially for rheumatism and fevers, and to relieve the pain of menstrual cramps. An infusion of the bark and leaves has been used to wet a cloth tied around the head as a headache treatment, and the same infusion used as a wash on cuts, bruises, wounds, and insect stings. A poultice of the boiled bark and leaves has been applied to treat swellings caused by muscle strain.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant.

Where It Grows

Britain, Europe, North America, USA,

Cultivation

An easily grown plant, it does well in a heavy cold damp soil. Prefers a deep rich well-drained circumneutral soil, growing best in the south and east of Britain. Tolerates extremely alkaline soils. Growth is much less on wet soils, on poor acid soils and on thin dry soils. It does not do well in exposed upland sites. It dislikes shade and is intolerant of root or branch competition. A fast-growing but short-lived species. Some forms of this species are tender in Britain. 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. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus.

Propagation

Seed must be sown as soon as it is ripe in spring, as poplar seed has an extremely short period of viability and must be sown within a few days of ripening. Surface sow or just lightly cover the seed in trays in a cold frame. Prick out seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and grow on in the cold frame. If sufficient growth is made, plants can go out in late summer; otherwise keep in the cold frame until the following late spring. Most poplar species hybridize freely, so seed may not come true unless collected from the wild where no other poplars grow. Take cuttings of mature wood from the current season's growth, 20–40cm long, in November or December, in a sheltered outdoor bed or direct into permanent positions — very easy. Suckers can be taken in early spring.

Other Uses

Strips of the inner bark have been used in garments, though it is unclear whether this was functional or purely ornamental. An extract of the shoots serves as a rooting hormone for all types of cuttings, prepared by soaking the chopped shoots in cold water for a day. Young twigs are peeled, split, and used in basket making. The wood is soft, weak, light, and rather woolly in texture, without smell or taste, of low flammability, not durable, and very resistant to abrasion. Trees are frequently pollarded for fuel and the wood used locally for fence posts.

References (2)

https://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/category/edible-plants/ Edible Plants – Southeastern Arizona Wildflowers and Plants
Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 430