The Collaborative International Dictionary
Cottonwood \Cot"ton*wood`\ (-w[oo^]d`), n. (Bot.) An American tree of the genus Populus or poplar, having the seeds covered with abundant cottonlike hairs; esp., the Populus monilifera and Populus angustifolia of the Western United States.
Wikipedia
Populus angustifolia is a species of poplar tree known by the common names narrowleaf cottonwood and willow-leaved poplar. This tree is native to the Great Basin in the United States where it is most often found by streams and creeks between elevation.
The tree is slim in profile, with yellow-green lanceolate (lance-shaped) leaves with scalloped margins. The catkins are fluffy and white. The buds are sticky and gummy and were enjoyed as a sort of chewing gum by local Native American peoples, including the Apache and Navajo.The tree is the host species of the sugarbeet root aphid (Pemphigus betae).