''Populus angustifolia'', commonly known as the narrowleaf cottonwood, is a species of tree in the willow family (

Salicaceae The Salicaceae is the willow family of flowering plants. The traditional family (Salicaceae ''sensu stricto'') included the willows, poplar, aspen, and cottonwoods. Genetic studies summarized by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) have greatly ...

). It is native to western North America, where it is a characteristic species of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

and the surrounding plains.''Populus angustifolia''
Flora of North America It ranges north to the provinces of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and south to the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Sonora in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Its natural habitat is by streams and creeks between elevation.

Description

The tree is slim in profile, and can grow in tightly packed clusters.''Populus angustifolia''
Southwest Colorado Wildflowers Its leaves are yellow-green, lanceolate (lance-shaped), and with scalloped margins. It produces

catkins A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in ''Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged c ...

in the early spring. The fruiting capsules are fluffy and white. Image:Populus_angustifolia.jpg, Old catkins and emerging spring leaves

Taxonomy

Where their ranges come into contact, this species will readily hybridize with ''

Populus balsamifera ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, ''Populus.'' The genus name ''Populu ...

'', ''

Populus deltoides ''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernmo ...

'', ''

Populus fremontii ''Populus fremontii'', commonly known as Frémont's cottonwood, is a cottonwood (and thus a poplar) native to riparian zones of the Southwestern United States and northern through central Mexico. It is one of three species in ''Populus'' sect ...

'', and ''

Populus trichocarpa ''Populus trichocarpa'', the black cottonwood, western balsam-poplar or California poplar, is a deciduous broadleaf tree species native to western North America. It is used for timber, and is notable as a model organism in plant biology. Desc ...

''. These hybrids can form extensive populations in some regions. Due to the frequency and morphological consistency of ''P. angustifolia'' × ''P. deltoides'' hybrids, they were initially described as a fully separate species ("'' P. acuminata''") until its hybrid origin was firmly established in the 1980s.

Uses

The buds are sticky and gummy and were enjoyed as a sort of

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its t ...

by local Native American peoples, including the Apache and Navajo. The tree is the host species of the sugarbeet root aphid (''Pemphigus betae'').

References

External links

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US Forest Service Fire EcologyPhoto gallery at CalPhotos
angustifolia Trees of the Great Basin Trees of the Northwestern United States Trees of the Southwestern United States Trees of the South-Central United States Trees of Alberta Flora of the California desert regions Flora of New Mexico Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Salicaceae-stub