Leaves are alternate, simple, single toothed, triangle shaped.
The cottonwood is a large, relatively short-lived tree with a wide, spreading crown and a large straight trunk. It sometimes reaches a height of 100 to 130 feet and a diameter of 5 to 6 feet. It is found over all of Iowa on moist bottomlands and along streams and rivers, but it will grow on almost any of our soils. The leaf is simple, triangular in shape, with a pointed tip and a rather square base. It is rubbery textured with a coarse toothed margin, covered with soft white hairs on the underside and supported by a long, flattened stem.