The name of several species of poplar (Populus) in U.S.; so called from the cotton-like substance surrounding the seeds. Also cottonwood tree.
1823. J. D. Hunter, Mem. Captivity N. Amer., 140. River bottom lands … support large growths of trees, consisting of cotton wood (Populus angulata).
1827. J. F. Cooper, Prairie, ii. He buried his axe to the eye in the soft body of a cotton-wood tree.
1851. Mayne Reid, Scalp Hunt., xviii. A shady clump of cotton-woods invited us to rest.
b. Comb. Cottonwood dagger, the name of a moth (Acronycta populi), the larva of which feeds on these trees.
1870. Riley, Missouri Rep. Insects, 119.
