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Article: The patriarch of the plains: Cottonwoods, long a sign of water amid dry grasses, are struggling to survive. (Restoring).
- Article from:
- American Forests
- Article date:
- September 22, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 American Forests. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Frontiersmen crossing the plains during the early 1800s had their own vision of heaven: the soft green crowns of cottonwoods rising above the yellow sweep of sun-parched grass in a land where rain was scarce and potable water scarcer.
A lone cottonwood on the plains might mark a hillside seep or a spot where the water table was within digging distance. Or, a cottonwood grove could shade a permanent spring, even though the waterhole was likely trampled by thousands of buffalo hooves. Water was water, and the plains cottonwood rose like a banner above almost every reliable accumulation.
Towering patriarch trees offered shade from a searing summer sun, ...