Wednesday Filler: Fremont Cottonwoods

Much of the arid parts of western North America are largely devoid of any wonderful, broad, sweeping, shade-giving trees.  Even the more water-blessed higher elevations and coastal lands have trees that are either shrubby or densely formed coniferous pillars.  Broad-leaved trees just do not occur here in the same degree of immensity and variety that they do in eastern North America or down in the tropical parts of Mexico, with a few exceptions.  California, Baja California, Arizona, and Sonora have multiple species of oaks, some of them evergreen.  In the canyons and watercourses of California are also the delightful shade givers known as California Sycamores (Platanus Racemosa).  Scattered at oases in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts are also the wonderful fan palms, but like the Sycamores, they are often towered over and partially shaded by the true western broad-leaved giants, the Fremont Cottonwood (Populus Fremontii).

These tall Fremonts are growing outside of Zion National Park's visitor center.

Fremonts are a sure sign that water is nearby.  In fact, they pretty much grow nowhere else naturally.  They stabilize otherwise erosion-prone western stream banks, and the heavy shade they provide also keeps those same watercourses cool.  They stand out brilliantly against otherwise arid terrain.