Residents in Aotearoa: Cottonwoods in New Zealand

Saturday, 19 February 2022

Cottonwoods in New Zealand

I was crossing the Oratia Stream one day and came across this tree.

Holy smokes, what's going on with this? The tree looked like a manuka but it was absolutely filled with light fluff.

Looking further...

I looked around a little more and the mystery began to resolve itself.

This big tree towers over the fluff-filled manuka.

The ground beneath ii is carpeted.

And the big tree itself looks very much like a cottonwood.

Cottonwoods are not native to NZ of course, but I read that they were brought over many years ago and are well established. This one certainly is and is making its presence felt, as cottonwoods everywhere do. -djf

6 comments:

Unknown20 February 2022 at 14:14
What a gorgeous tree! The white layers on the ground remind me of Billy Bob's fur when I had him back in my 20s. He was samoyed and golden retriever and his fur would come out like cotton also. I loved him but what a mess in the house. I had hard wood floors so it was easier to clean due to that at least. I'll wait to guess on the close up shot. I have a maybe guess but I'll wait for a couple of days to see what it is. McKenzie
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Doug Foster20 February 2022 at 14:22
Well, you can guess anytime you want...but it's a pine cone.
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Unknown20 February 2022 at 14:36
I was right! McKenzie

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Doug Foster20 February 2022 at 14:41
Hurrah!
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Dianne25 February 2022 at 07:31
That is certainly a lot of fluff that cottonwood tree has produced! There are cottonwoods here too but I only notice them when their cotton is being carried on the breezes or has already settled on the streets. I've seen the cottonwood fluff so thick in the air it looked like it was snowing! If you ever catch a fluff you'll find that the seed it carries is tiny but it has BIG dreams!

Your pine cone closeup could just as easily have been a pine APPLE! so now we know why the pineAPPLE was named that way..
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Doug Foster25 February 2022 at 10:13
Indeed.
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My deer blind, a place outside of time and space.

This is a picture of my deer hunting blind. I built in in 1975 and used it until about 2010. I'm publishing this picture and text on November 15 of 2022, the opening day of Michigan's rifle deer hunting season, to remember all the years I spent sitting there and occasionally harvesting a deer. I think that the meat I provided for my family was only a small portion of the benefit I received from hunting in this manner. Of greater value to me was the time I spent alone, watching the forest and its many components interact. I had time to unwind from the stresses of my work, to appreciate our world, and even sometimes to pray. That blind was a refuge to me. It was cozy, and comfortable and I spent much more time filming the activities of not only deer, but bears, racoons, turkeys, squirrels, hawks, and once, even a snowy owl, than I did harvesting deer. May I suggest to all of you that you try to find some time and a place, where you can be alone, and where you can ponder and appreciate your life and your place in the world. It does a body good. -djf