White fluffy stuff - what IS it? (Seattle: allergies, safe)

[ElektroDragon]

Having moved from the east coast last year, I've noticed this phenomenon twice now and would like to know what it is. At the same end of May time frame last year and this year, I see all this white fluffy plant material EVERYWHERE... its snowing the stuff, and it swirls in the streets in huge quantities. They never had this stuff back east, so I was wondering what exactly it was? Clearly its some kind of seed or pollen, but is it from a weed, a tree, and which one? It clearly all comes from the same species....

[Molly 56]

I have the same question; it really is like snow. Is this cottonwood? We had it in Texas a bit, but never in this quantity. I see some trees that look like our cottonwood but they are taller, and I dont remember the bark. I asked a local and he kind of laughed and said if it looked like cottonwood it must be cottonwood....duh...

Well, whatever...it's fun to watch but my allergies aren't having a good time.

[Ira500]

Yup, it's cottonwood. It's so thick it looks like snow at times.

[mishigas73]

Whatever it is, it makes me miserable.

[ElektroDragon]

Thanks guys... I did a little research and specifically this must be the black cottonwood and we are dead center for its geographic range. It's weird that there must be that many of them here since all I can really see most of the time are various kinds of evergreen trees!

[obsidian97]

They're around. Luckily it's not the same kind of cottonwood you get in the south that can set off allergies. This stuff just makes a mess.

I picked up 25 gallons of cotton wood out of my normal sized back yard last year.

The seeds aren't really the worst part of these trees. They're trash wood. They grow so fast that their limbs are very weak so they break off at the drop of a hat. We had a 30' branch drop off our neighbor's cottonwood tree simply because it was drizzling last year. That little extra weight pushed the branch over the breaking point.

[ElektroDragon]

Originally Posted by obsidian97

I picked up 25 gallons of cotton wood out of my normal sized back yard last year.

Won't the seeds just biodegrade if you leave them alone or mulch them with grass clippings? Do they really need cleaned up? Just curious as I'm about to get my first PNW lawn.

[jenlion]

Oh man. No, you can't leave them. They took over the space our son uses to play -- they drifted up in the backyard. If you can't see the uneven places under the trees, it's not safe to walk; you'll twist an ankle. This is a dirt-area, not a grassy area, right under a bunch of firs and that terrible gigantic cottonwood. (I'm obsidian's wife, so we are talking about the same house). I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not.

They never really caused a problem on the lawn, other than the areas right under the tree where branches or big clusters of empty pods would fall. They are sticky and pokey and not fun, you want those picked up from where kids play. But other areas not directly under the tree were fine. Front yard, for example, just had some white stuff on it. No biggie. Definitely not the foot-high drifts. So, if you're not right under a gigantic cottonwood tree, you will be fine. It'll cluster along the edge of your sidewalk, but won't get deep enough to cause a problem!

It's everywhere and it's not anywhere near peak yet. Gah! Hate the cottonwoods!!

[MaikeerinWA]

Local News | Fluff is survival tactic for a tough species: cottonwood | Seattle Times

Interesting that the cottonwood isn't much of an allergen, for the most part.

[Scotty Dosent Know]

We have one in our back year and it pretty much covers the entire block in the fluffy stuff. I need to get some one out here to cut it down one of these years but its $$$ I second the fact that if you look at it wrong a huge limb will break off. I cant believe I used to climb it when I was a kid.....stupid lol