Northern Black Cottonwood. PopUhU tricfiocarpa fiastata. 
Leaves smooth, thick, shiny above, with rusty specks 
on the whitish undersurface. Flowers and bark similar 
to balsam poplar. Wood soft and straight grained, 
excellent for cooperage and pulp, but of little economic 
importance in Alaska. 
Black cottonwood is hard to distinguish from balsam 
poplar as it seeks similar habitats and is of much the 
same general appearance. Black cottonwood, how- 
over, seems to have a smaller winter bud and slightly 
narrower and more lanceolate leaves with a whiter 
undersurface. The range also differs, as black cotton- 
wood occurs along the coast from Kokiak Island east- 
ward to the Stikine River where it extends into British 
Columbia, and is sparsely scattered along the coast* 
southward. It is not reported in interior Alaska. The 
balsam poplar does not grow on the coast except where 
valleys penetrate the mountains. 
Beak Willow. Saiix bebbiana. 
Leaves ovate-lanceolate, 1 to 3 inches long, one-half 
to 1 inch wide, with ear-shaped, leaflike growths at the 
base. Male and female flowers on different trees. 
Fruit thin capsules produced in long tassellike clusters, 
the capsules liberating minute winged seeds in early 
spring. Bark thin and reddish, tw-igs orange red and 
marked by elevated leaf scars having three minute 
dots. Wood light and brittle. Beak willow is used 
for ball bats, charcoal, gunpowder, and withes for 
furniture and baskets. It is of little commercial 
importance in Alaska. 
Sometimes a bushy tree 20 feet tall with a 6 to 8 inch 
trunk. Found along streams, swamps, and lakes, in 
wet, rich soil, from Cook Inlet east and south along the 
coast, forming thickets. 
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