Large cottonwood trees grow along the island’s west shore. These shallow-rooted trees grow exceptionally fast, require lots of water, and are among the most common trees along prairie watercourses and lakeshores. For Indians, the cottonwood was a sacred tree, and saplings were often used as center poles in sun dances. The nutritious bark of young cottonwoods was often fed to ponies during winter, and young cotton pods, among the first green growth to appear in spring, were readily eaten by some tribes. When the female cottonwood’s pods ripen and open to the wind, they scatter cotton over wide areas.