Found in moist areas, on river banks
Seen blooming in May in Abiquiú You have all seen the huge cottonwoods that grow along the ditches and the Rio Chama, and in its historic floodplain, but the flowers high above your head may not be so familiar. This is the red male flower, called a catkin, loaded with golden pollen. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees and emerge before the leaves. When the less conspicuous green female flower is pollinated the green seedpods hang like a small bunch of grapes before they explode and fill the air with cottony seeds. Cottonwoods can grow to 100 feet tall, more usually 50 feet, with leaning trunks up to 5 feet in diameter, wide-spreading branches and a leafy canopy. Mature trees have thick, deeply-furrowed, gray bark. Leaves are glossy green and triangular. They turn bright, golden yellow in the Fall. Native Americans used various parts of the tree; inner bark was often dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc. or added to cereals when making bread, catkins are eaten raw, and the cotton and buds have been used by children as a chewing gum. The wood is used to make various items and for fuel. Source. If you trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flower bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website send a photo and where you took it to contact@rockymountainsflora.com. Read online for tips.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI am Marilyn Phillips, a native of England, whose love of nature and the outdoors from childhood brought me by a circuitous route to Crested Butte, Colorado in 1993 and 16 years later to northern New Mexico. My exploration of the many trails in these areas, my interest in wildflowers and photography, and career in computer system design came together in this creation. If you have any corrections, comments or questions, please contact me by email. Archives
September 2024
Categoriescopyright © 2020
|