Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa (Populus trichocarpa)
Black Cottonwood
Family: Salicaceae (Willow family)
Photo taken in East Wenatchee near the loop bicycle trail, growing on the side of a small creek
© 2002 Thayne Tuason
© 2003 Thayne Tuason
This is the largest Black Cottonwood that I have seen yet in Central Washington- found between Porter's Pond area and the sewage treatment center on the Loop Trail in East Wenatchee. My 45 lb. dog laying near the base of the tree is for scale.
Plant:
Wood used to make dugout canoes by the Okanagan-Colville, Shuswap, and Thompson. Rotten wood used for smoking hides by the Thompson and Shuswap. Dried inner bark used as soap- laundry and personal use- and as a scouring pad by the Thompson. Buds rubbed on the skin as sunscreen by te Kwakiutl. Buds cooked with mountain goat fat for sunscreen. Poultice of pitch applied to sores by the Shuswap and Nitinaht.
