May 3, 2018
Pacific Northwest
I almost missed it, being away for much of April: the sweet golden season of the Black Cottonwoods in my neighborhood. When this tree leafs out in spring its new foliage opens up as soft delicate sheets in shiny golden hues. Yes, in fall, the abundant spent leaves that drop form drifts of yellow, but they are dull and crumbly then. These new leaves glow.
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Black Cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa, is a member of the same plant genus as Quaking Aspens and Lombardy Poplars. Like most Populus trees, cottonwoods have leaves that flutter in a breeze due to their flattened petioles (leaf stems). Cottonwood leaves are heart-shaped.
Cottonwoods prefer damp soil, such as this wetland site behind the beach. A century ago a drainage channel was dug out between what’s now a marshy pond (where chorus frogs nest in spring and trumpeter swans roost in winter) down to the beach. Dirt was pushed up high enough above the water table to build a few houses on. Somebody planted a line of cottonwoods along the driveway next to the drainage channel long enough ago so the trees are very tall and their bark is furrowed.
But the best part of this short interval in cottonwood’s spring leaf-out is the sweet fragrance wafting all up and down the beach from each of the thousands of unfurling leaves. I wish you could smell it. The scent is like honeycomb dripping with fresh local honey, an intensely sweet waxy cloud, almost visible as the delicate leaves flutter in our cool spring breeze.
Oh it is heavenly!
Soon the foliage will green up and solidify, filling out this grove of cottonwoods for the summer. Catkins and cottony seeds will emerge soon. Redtails will continue perching up there to look over the marsh while eagles perch the other direction watching the bay, but now both will be less visible within dense foliage. This soft ephemeral golden tinge will fade as leaves get busy with serious photosynthesis.
The honeyed fragrance will disappear as if it was never there. No photos can evoke that lovely aroma. Breathe deep now.
What’s the springtime nature news where you live?
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