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Fremont cottonwood Salicaceae Populus fremontii S. Watson Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: POFR2
Leaf: Alternate, simple, broadly cordate to triangular, coarsely crenate, 2 to 4 inches long, petiole flattened, shiny green above, sometimes pubescent beneath.
Flower: Species is dioecious; males and females as hanging catkins, 2 to 4 inches long, yellow-green, appearing in early spring before the leaves.
Fruit: Light brown, small egg-shaped capsules, splits (3 parts) to disseminate numerous, small cottony seeds.
Twig: Moderate to stout, gray-brown to yellow-brown, swollen at leaf scars; large green-brown pointed bud, not sticky; twig has a bitter aspirin taste.
Bark: Light gray-brown, becoming deeply furrowed with flat-topped ridges.
Form: Reaches up to 60 feet in height with a broad, flat-topped crown, with a trunk up to 2 to 3 feet in diameter.
 Looks like: black cottonwood - eastern cottonwood - quaking aspen - narrowleaf cottonwood

Fremont cottonwood leaf image
Fremont cottonwood flower image
Fremont cottonwood fruit image
Fremont cottonwood twig image
Fremont cottonwood bark image
Fremont cottonwood form image
Fremont cottonwood map image

Additional Range Information: Populus fremontii is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color - Wood
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information