Trees of Kankakee

Eastern Cottonwoods

Have you been seeing all those white fluffy things floating around lately? Well fear not, it’s not snowing in June like you may suspect with Illinois weather, it's just the Eastern Cottonwood making its presence known. And what a presence it is! With dancing leaves, cottony seeds, and impressively large stature, this North American native definitely stands out in the forest crowd.

Eastern cottonwoods are one of the fastest growing trees in North America and can grow to incredible sizes, standing up to 100 ft tall with a truck diameter up to 9 ft! They also have special leaves that quake in the wind, thanks to their unique flat stems. Their dancing leaves are a key way to identify them, along with their summer seed pods that release the billowy, cottony seeds in late spring and early summer. A single tree can produce millions of these seeds in a season!

These trees also provide a home to many animals and insects, including several types of caterpillars that dine on their leaves as their primary food supply.

Eastern cottonwoods have several incredible features that steal the show, however there is something on the inside that you cannot easily see that is my favorite thing about them. They are made up of stars, literally! If you break open their fallen twigs at the nodes, you can see the celestial magic of these trees for yourself.

Willowhaven has an abundance of cottonwoods that drop their constellations often. Next time you’re out and about keep an eye out for them… and happy star gazing!