If you ever wondered about the cotton that we have floating around our communities for several weeks in the spring each year, all of our communities have native cottonwood trees distributed around springs, creeks, and rivers, and those cottonwoods produce cotton in order to distribute their seeds. We have male and female cottonwood trees, and so the male trees don't produce the cotton, the female trees do. The female cottonwood trees produce the seeds in a flower called a catkin. The cottonwood flower opens up and the cotton flows away from the tree, spreading the seed in places where it will germinate. If you're interested in planting trees that don't have cotton, you want to make sure that you purchase a cottonless cottonwood, which is a male, to plant in your yard. If you have further questions on planting cottonwoods or other trees, you can contact your local extension office. For the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Donna Hoffman, and you're watching From the Ground Up.