by Sally Flowers
“Oh my gosh!”- I rudely interrupted the conversation as my hiking companions and I reached the summit and began to circumnavigate the seasonal marshy spot atop the Kinnikinnick climb up to Meadow Loop. At least one in our party reflexively reached for her bear spray, convinced that my exclamation and sudden pivot, nose in air, indicated I had smelled, or even spotted, a predator nearby, probably the recently reported South Star Mama Grizzly.
But, no, I had caught a faint whiff of one of my all-time favourite scents- the heady fragrance of the waxy resin from the spring buds of a Black Cottonwood tree. A bit more pivoting and sniffing and soon I saw her- tall, majestic, fragrant, spring leaves glinting- standing alone on the south side of the marsh. My companions breathed a little easier as they realized the subject of my enthusiasm. Perhaps a few eyes did roll, though, as we reached my destination, and I patted her bark with a spontaneous and unapologetic “I love you!” I do love the South Star Black Cottonwoods and I am on a mission to visit them all and to find the largest in the trail network.
These generous deciduous beauties keep giving in all the seasons: the early buds are the fragrance of spring to me. I have some I gathered from windfall in 2007 that are still as pungent today. The young lance-shaped leaves give shiny emerald movement in the slightest breeze, and their cool shade and moisture- retaining ability (making them less susceptible to fire) are welcome in the heat of the summer. Cottonwoods provide the first golden colour in the fall – typically just before the Larch and Aspen and are therefore easily identifiable in early October. Even in winter the Cottonwoods are obvious by their residue fragrance and grey (almost black when wet) deeply furrowed bark. These are short-lived, fast growers – up to two metres in one year- and they like wet feet to propagate so they are often near water.
My love for the Black Cottonwoods (also known as Balsam Poplar) began early. I was raised in the Missouri River Region on the Northeastern Plains of Montana where fishing trips with my Dad and riverside walks with our ranch neighbour were permeated with Cottonwood fragrance. First Nations in the Missouri region used the wood to carve canoes and make lodge poles. The children folded slit leaves to create miniature teepee villages. The prolific cottony seed fluff (the sneeze making air borne stuff) made great padding and even a worthy diaper. The resinous buds were made into a wound salve currently known as Balm of Gilead, and the inner bark of young shoots was used as food. Similar local uses and more are listed in Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies, by Linda Kershaw, Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia, by Parish, Coupe and Lloyd, and Nancy Turner’s Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge.
As well as the Meadow Loop beauty, watch for Cottonwoods at South Star along the Peavine, Bobsled, Moose Creek, and Snow Creek corridors, and in the intact area (saved from the fireguard logging) along Kinnikinnick off Shady Lane behind the 53rd St houses. A special nod to Gord Rae, long-time South Star trail builder and maintenance man, who, with the help of Rod Leach, blazed this section of Kinnikinnick. Gord recently passed and I will always consider this as “Gord’s Trail.” Kudos to the South Star board and volunteers for their efforts in preserving the sensitive root system in this and other wet areas by building boardwalks and bridges.
For further inspiration we are fortunate to live near the oldest known Cottonwoods in the world. From Highway 3 turn south onto Morrisey Road about 10 minutes west of Fernie. To your left, just before the railway tracks, you will see signage indicating the Black Cottonwood Preserve. A stroll through these 300-year-old trees highlights the many wonders of this species. I like to think that with our appreciation and preservation efforts our Black Cottonwoods will be here at least 300 years, too, providing biodiversity, beauty and fragrance at South Star for generations to come.
See you on the trails!
Leave a Reply