COTTONWOOD

The beautiful Fremont cottonwood tree, with its lustrous yellow-green leaves, is a sure sign that a water source is nearby.

Native to the Southwest, the tree can be found in wet soils along streams in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains surrounding inland valleys in the Los Angeles Basin. It is a frequent companion to sycamores, willows and alders.

The Fremont cottonwood (Populous Fremontii) was named after its discoverer, Gen. John Charles Fremont, who explored much of California in its pioneer days.

The tree is broadly shaped and has an open, flat crown and widely spreading branches. It grows to between 40 and 80 feet high and has gray bark that is thick, rough and deeply furrowed. Its trunk is 2 to 4 feet in diameter.

Leaves are triangular and 2 to 3 inches in length and width. They often are broader than they are long. The leaves turn bright lemon yellow in the fall but stay on the tree practically all winter.

Twigs are light green. The tree has greenish yellow flowers about 2 to 3 1/2 inches long in the early spring. Its fruit--egg-shaped, light brown capsules--matures in the spring. The capsules split into three parts, revealing many cottony-looking seeds.