cottonwood

American  

[kot-n-wood] / ˈkɒt nˌwʊd /

noun

1. any of several American poplars, as Populus deltoides, having toothed, triangular leaves and cottonlike tufts on the seeds.

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cottonwood British  

/ ˈkɒtənˌwʊd /

noun

1. any of several North American poplars, esp Populus deltoides, whose seeds are covered with cottony hairs

2. Also called: tauhinu.  a native New Zealand shrub, Cassinia leptophylla , with daisy-like flowers

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Etymology

Origin of cottonwood

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; cotton + wood ¹

Example Sentences

He approached, climbed the cottonwood tree and snatched a single pale-blue egg.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Some of the most common tree pollens that cause allergies include birch, cedar, cottonwood, maple, elm, oak and walnut, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 22, 2024

The river is gentle and slow most days, but when it floods it becomes a powerful agent of change, ripping cottonwood trees out of the ground and tossing large boulders through the park.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2023

Here grow maple, oak, hickory, cottonwood, sycamore, river birch, hackberry, fronds bowed under climbing English ivy, with winter creeper spreading underfoot.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2023

He could hear the rain rattling the roof and the sound of the old cottonwood tree straining in the wind.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko