Kingdom Plantae Family Salicaceae Scientific name Populus heterophylla | Order Malpighiales Genus Populus Rank Species | |
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Similar Populus grandidentata, Populus angustifolia, Populus ilicifolia, Populus wilsonii, Populus fremontii | ||
Populus heterophylla, also known as downy poplar, swamp poplar and swamp cottonwood, is a large deciduous poplar belonging to Populus section Leucoides. It is found in wet bottomland forests, reaching a height of 100 feet (30 m) at full maturity and 50 feet (15 m) in 20 years. The swamp cottonwood is similar to the eastern cottonwood except the leaves are cordate (heart-shaped) instead of deltoid.
This species is indigenous to warm, temperate regions in North America, although nowhere is it considered abundant. Swamp cottonwood can be found along the eastern seaboard of the United States from Connecticut and southeastern New York to Georgia and northwestern Florida, west to Louisiana. It also grows north in the Mississippi Valley to southeastern Missouri, western Tennessee, Kentucky, southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and southern Michigan. A separated population was discovered on a flat clay plain near Lake St. Clair in extreme south western Ontario, Canada in November 2002.
