cottonwood

noun5

1. •
   A tree from one of number of species of tree in the genus Populus (poplars), typically growing along watercourses, with fluffy catkins.

   • Between these canyons the river has a low but rather narrow flood plain, with cottonwood groves scattered here and there, and a chaparral of mesquite bearing beans and thorns. — 1895
2. •
   Populus sect. Aigeiros, a taxonomic section of the poplar genus
3. •
   A tree of species Ceiba pentandra, native to the American tropics and west Africa; silk-cotton tree.
4. •
   A cottonwood hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum, syn. Hibiscus tiliaceus), a flowering shrub or tree in the mallow family.
5. •
   Several species of trees endemic to New Zealand.