Leaf guide › Aspens & poplars
Eastern cottonwood
Populus deltoides
The ribbons of gold that trace rivers and creeks across the Plains.
- Fall color
- Yellow
- Turns
- Mid-season
- Leaves
- Alternate (one per spot)
- Size
- 3–6 in. long
- Found in
- Great Plains, Midwest, Rockies, Southwest
How to recognize it
- Triangular leaf with a flat base and a long tapering tip.
- Coarse, curved teeth along the edge.
- Long, flattened leaf stem makes the leaves rattle in wind.
- Big trees with deeply furrowed gray bark, usually near water.
Where to find it
Look for it along rivers, creeks, lakeshores, and floodplains, where its roots can reach water. On the Plains, a line of yellow cottonwoods often marks a river from miles away.
Where you’ll see it this fall
Eastern cottonwood is one of the main trees in the fall color at these destinations. Dates are the typical peak.
Nebraska: Omaha (Oct 24)
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City (Nov 5)
Texas: Dallas (Nov 10)
Easy to confuse with
Quaking aspen
Smaller, rounder leaf with fine teeth.
Western cottonwoods
Narrowleaf, Fremont, and black cottonwood fill the same role in the West and turn the same gold.
Worth knowing
Its name comes from the cottony seed fluff it releases in early summer. It’s the state tree of Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. It’s one of the fastest-growing trees in North America.
Common questions
What color does eastern cottonwood turn in fall?
Eastern cottonwood turns a bright, clean yellow, sometimes deepening to gold before the leaves drop.
When does eastern cottonwood change color?
Around the middle of the local season. Along rivers in the Plains, cottonwoods are often the main fall color on the landscape.
How can you tell eastern cottonwood from quaking aspen?
Quaking aspen: Smaller, rounder leaf with fine teeth. Eastern cottonwood: Triangular leaf with a flat base and a long tapering tip.
Where does eastern cottonwood grow?
In the lower 48, look for it in the Great Plains, the Midwest, the Rockies, and the Southwest.
See where the color is peaking today.
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