[Cottonwoods and Poplars East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]
Black Cottonwood, Balsam Poplar

Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa

Synonym: Populus trichocarpa

Black Cottonwood, Balsam Poplar: Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (Synonym: Populus trichocarpa)

Black cottonwood as seen on Wedge Mountain, Wenatchee National Forest....................June 8, 2009.

Leaf of Black Cottonwood, Balsam Poplar: Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (Synonym: Populus trichocarpa)

Leaf of black cottonwood as seen on Wedge Mountain, Wenatchee National Forest....................June 8, 2009. The blade shape ranges from narrower to slightly wider with pale undersides. The petiole is always round in cross-section (a way to distinguish the smaller, more rounded leaves of young plants from the leaves of quaking aspen (which has flattened petioles).

Upper leaf surface of Black Cottonwood, Balsam Poplar: Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (Synonym: Populus trichocarpa) - Inflorescence of Black Cottonwood, Balsam Poplar: Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (Synonym: Populus trichocarpa) - Lower leaf surface of Black Cottonwood, Balsam Poplar: Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (Synonym: Populus trichocarpa)

Close-ups of the leaves and inflorescence of black cottonwood several days after the leaves have first emerged as seen along the John Day River adjacent to the fairgrounds in John Day, Oregon...................June 2, 2011.
Paul Slichter