A Friends Story, the Fremont Cottonwood (Populous Fremontii)

My friend (Montessa) stands in the riparian corridor along the banks of the West Walker River. She stands in a grove surrounded by family members and offspring of various ages. The birthdate or germination date, as it is described for plants, coincides with the years when the river flows overtopped the banks. She consists of three separate trunks that emerged from a single root system.  Surviving through droughts that were severely stressful and floods that washed away soils in which some of my roots had formed. Her foliage has provided shade on hot summer days and nest platforms for Blue Herons, Redtail Hawks, Magpies, and some species of songbirds. A beaver has found my bark quite tasty, but gave up thankfully. I really didn't appreciate him try to cut me down. 

The trees that line the banks help stabilize floodplain soils. They share the riparian area with other plant species, that includes native grass, sage, buffalo berry, wild rose, and wild golden current.

The seeds that are produced by the Fremont Cottonwood are only viable for a few days after they fall from the tree. Nature has magically timed this occurrence to happen when there is flooding from the streams. It occurs simultaneously because nearly the same number of degree days are required to trigger snowmelt events and high water as it does the seed drop from the tree. The seed likes to be flooded and kept moist in order to send a fast growing root into the soil. A single growth tip emerges quit rapidly and heads skyward with leaves forming all along the growth shoot. Once established it can grow as much as 30 feet in a single year. This is entirely dependent on the availability of moisture, sunlight, and soil nutrients. 

Within the floodplain the seeds often germinate and establish themselves in very high density as is shown in this picture. In some of these areas grazing or other environmental factors, such as lack of sufficient moisture, reduce the initial populations to sustainable levels.

The massive root structure of the Populous Fremontii tree is very typical. These roots became exposed from water erosion during high channel flood flows and are twelve to twenty inches in diameter. They form bark on them for protection. The roots can and do travel hundreds of feet horizontally. This tree is about one hundred years of age.