Record Eastern Cottonwood

Reading an article written 2014 I became aware of a record tree that I would have easy access to. We went by there yesterday and measured the cottonwood. While we were there a small branch fell but the tree is fairly healthy as far as I could tell. 

The tree diameter is 112" which is a circumference of 351.8"

The height is 79'

The tree canopy is 123' and 107'

Giving 460 total points for the tree.

An Old Tree

A tree grows in a field,

unnoticed by many.

Time passes by,

some trees grow others are cut down.

Houses are built,

roads are laid down,

children play,

families gather under its shade.

Each year the tree expands,

as the sun gives its warmth.

Winter brings the snows

It withstands the driving rains.

The tree waits for the spring,

responding with growth to the return of warmth.

Eastern Cottonwood

This tree is still growing at a regular rate. At the end of 2008 it had a circumference of 201". Yesterday it had a circumference of 217.25. It has grown 16.25" in 9 years. The height of the tree is 108' and the branch spread was 108 and 83'. The point value of the tree is 363.

This is the biggest tree I have measured since I started measuring trees, in central and West Missouri.

The other tree that rivals this tree in size is an American Sycamore tree that is not far from here. It is growing up on the slopes you can see in the background in this picture. That tree has a spring above it which contributes to its growth.

This Cottonwood is growing on the old Missouri river bottoms. The bottoms were diked a long time ago probably in the early 1900's.

There are many things that come against a tree from living a long life. Disease, bug infestation, storms, soil and ground stability and the growth of other trees abound it. Development by construction knock out a lot of trees.

People can be compared to trees in the aspect of strength, growth and stability. It is the choices we make in how we live our life that determine our success. Some things come against us that out of our control, but God will provide what we need as we stay connected to Him.

Psalm 105:4

"Seek the Lord and His strength. Seek His face continually."

Father, guide me by Your Spirit to be bring light and life to others.

Flood Recovery

This stand of Cottonwood trees have grown up since the 1993 flood along the Missouri river.

The land was formally farmland. After the flood the government took the land and allowed it to revert back to a natural wildlife area. The area is in the Big Muddy Wildlife area along the Missouri river.

Cottonwood trees do well in this wetland environment. You can see the work of beaver on a few trees that are showing whitish bark being chewed off by the beavers.

Growth comes to land after a flood disaster. The type of tree that seeds into a flooded area is a special type of tree that survives well in wet soil.

Christians also can bounce back after a disaster. The process of recovery is related to the type of problem they encounter. 

It says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ."

God uses what Satan throws at us and turns it for our good and the good of others. Knowing this, we can look with expectancy for the good God will work in our life. Just as land managers expect nature to recover after a flood.

Remeasure Eastern Cotton Wood Tree

June 1st 2015

Circumference 9' 8 7/8"

Height 108'

Canopy 61' and 73'

Total points 241

The decrease in height is due to the problem of looking through other branches that are not part of the tree I was measuring. The circumference increased 7/8"

June 14th 2014

Circumference 9' 8"

Height 115.8 '

Canopy 67' and 71'

Total Points 249

June 14, 2014 photo

Large Cottonwood

We measured this large E. Cottonwood tree today.

Circumference: 20' 5" I measured above the burl, which was 6' high.

Height: 109'

Canopy 75

Giving a total point value of 373.

Notice the tape is not level, but you want to measure it as the stem of the tree leans.

The large burl hindered my measuring at the correct height or 4' 6". But this tree has some history. The tree may have been 2 trees and then grew into one tree. There is a crack in the bole of the tree that may break away at some point.

I had just brought my 50 mm lens and could not get a clear shot of the tree with it. Therefore the stitching. Such a gloomy day would not make for much of a good photo. The 50 mm lesns has more settings to adjust for low light and that is why I brought it. I really enjoy my wide angle lens, which I failed to bring with me. It gives me a lot of latitude in where I could take a photo from. But I didn't think there was any hope of taking any half way decent photo.

Jill, my wife was worried about me falling in the river. There was a lot of room to get around the tree. I wasn't worried at all.

Tree Stem Butt Rot

Here are 2 healthy trees that I will watch to see if the exposed parts of the stems of these trees will cause them to be in distress. Currently there seems to be no problems at all.

This Bitternut Hickory seems to have some butt rot in the base of the tree. 

Here the E. Cottonwood tree seems to have grown together at the base and further up the stem of the tree. Why was there a gap in the middle? Why did the tree wait to grow together further up the stem?

This tree does not seem to have the problem the Bitternut Hickory has. There is not as much decay happening with this tree.

Cottonwood Seeds Blowing Down the River

All the white specks in this photo are Cottonwood seeds blowing down the Missouri river.

E Cottonwood Buds

Cottonwood winter buds.

Season Contrast of E. Cottonwood

Here is some contrast photos on a Eastern Cottonwood tree.

Bark Contrast

Chinquapin oak is on the left and Eastern Cottonwood is on the right. This is a contrast between 2 very different types of bark. Cottonwood is rarely seen in these woods on the hillside. They are found along the creek bottoms.

Cottonwood germinates easily and it is not rare to see large patches of ground of pure cottonwood seedlings. It is my guess that the trees are about the same age showing the faster growth of the Eastern cottonwood. At one point this hillside may have been cleared and this cottonwood started on a bare patch of ground.

This unusual occurance of cottonwood brings to mind the occurance of Christ  birth in my heart. I was a child and accepted the Lord because of John 3:16 being explained to me.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His ^[a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Cottonwood Buds

Eastern Cottonwood buds taken 17-Feb-2012

Lean to the Light

Here in a stand of Cottonwood is one stem that is leaning. Why? It is looking for light. We need to look for the light of Jesus. I see this often int the woods. But without the light of Jesus we are finished.

I can do nothing without you Jesus. You are the strength of my life. It is in You that I grow. You are the source of my strength.

Cottonwood Seeds

Cottonwood Seeds in pod.

Young Stand of Cottonwood

Conk in Eastern Cottonwood

An interesting conk in a Cottonwood.

Big Cottonwood

This the largest tree I have measured. I know you guys out on the west coast will laugh at this but that is the way it is in the mid west.

Circumference 16' 9" 201
Canopy 99' & 85' 23
Height 130' 130

Total points 354

This park is on the old Missouri river bottom land.

Tree Measurement: Cottonwood

I came across a large Eastern Cottonwood and thought I would measure it.

I came up with a height of 120'. A circumference of 149". A canopy of 78' measured one way and a canopy of 64' measured another way. This gives a point total of 287. The average diameter of the tree is 47". There are only 3 other trees that I have measured that have a larger tree diameter. One of those trees is probably 2 trees grown together. I would like to find the rules on when a tree is 2 trees and not one.

This tree is near my Sycamore vine tree. So it should be easy to return to and check.

It is interesting to note that all my top tree points are in the bottom lands. There is one exception and that was a Sycamore that rated over 300 points. But it is right below a spring that flows all year.

It seems that this statistic shows the availability of water will cause trees to grow to their potential. So water is one of the limiting factors of tree growth where I live.

Power Line Recovery

Photo taken 23-Mar-08
This power line right of way was cleared last fall. I will be taking photos to show the recovery. I do not know if chemicals were use to keep the growth down.

On 21-Sep-08 I decided to find out how the growth was coming on this power line. It was Sunday morning and foggy with limited time I planned to walk over with my dog to take a few photos. I figured that there would be some knee high growth and some trees maybe growing up to waist high.

What I found was astonishing.


This first photo does not show any growth but it does demonstrate the amount of fog that was present that morning.


This area is ripe for thistles. And there were plenty here.



These 2 photos show the abundance of blackberries. They were not just growing along the ground but were about chest high, 5' and will reap a bucket load of blackberries next summer.




The above photo shows the high growth of grass. The red stemmed plant below escapes my memory, but there were many plants 5' or higher.




Above is a cottonwood tree that looks like it has made it past 8' in height. I could not get to it because of the blackberries.





There was no way I was going to get back to the spot I was at in March without a machete or a stick to beat my way in. But this photo shows how much growth has come back since last fall when all vegetation was cut out.



This photo shows the abundance of Black locust.


Nature will not be denied. Man may alter as area for awhile but if left alone nature will take it back. I find this example to be encouraging in the resilience of nature. God has made plants in such redundancy that even with man's effort nature will rebound. I know there are places that are ruined by overuse, strip mining. Some areas of the middle east have been barren for years. Yet with the wise management of man some of these areas are coming back.

In Israel there used to be a forest in the Negev. Now it is just desert. Trees are being planted back in the Negev with special thought to catching water for the tree and a forest is coming back into existence.

Ezekiel 20:46

"Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and speak out against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev,

Ezekiel 20:47

and say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched and the whole surface from south to north will be burned by it.

Sprouting Cottonwood

Here is an example of how a tree (cottonwood) seemed to have died but has sprouted again.


John 6:35
"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life;
he who comes to Me shall not hunger,
and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.'"

Young Cottonwood Woods Video

1 Thessalonians 1:2 "We give thanks to God always for all of you,
making mention of you in our prayers."