Need help Tree is raining

[hoot]

Not sure what type of tree this is but it's been a weird one. First off, it loses it's leaves very early. Today I was watering the flower garden under it and I was getting rained on. Went and got the wife to confirm I was not crazy . I even saw the droplets coming down when the sun was just right. The sky was blue and it had not rained in the last two days.

Here are a few pictures ...

 

[BobUrban]

Cottonwood if that is the leaf in pic one

 

[hoot]

That is what I thought it was but I don't understand the water coming off of it.

 

[BobUrban]

It is sap - at least I would guess it is sap. Just not the resinous sap you think of in pine or some such thing. The sap in maple trees flows like water.

 

[hoot]

Must be. It feels and looks like water. Weird cause it's falling from the top of the tree like rain.

 

[BrotherBart]

Tree pee.

 

[BobUrban]

park you car under it and see what it feels like after the 99% water burns off in the sun. J/K don't do that unless you have a teenager that will wash your cars for you

 

[Wood Duck]

I'd say it is Bigtooth Aspen. I don't know what the water is.

 

[Applesister]

I was gonna say Eastern Cottonwood. It could be Big toothed aspen. But I'm kinda going with the first one. The dripping sap is from the leaf drop which might be caused by powdery mildew or some other leaf fungus that causes premature defoliation. Sometimes its simply a drop in the water table causing early leaf drop.

 

[hoot]

Thing is, every year it starts dropping leaves in August. It sits just above a small stream but it still can get dry. It was strange cause you could see the water raining down glistening in the sun.
Reading the wiki on the eastern looks to be it. The leaf shape is eastern.

 

[muncybob]

Looks like the cottonwood we have. The tree is a monster and grows very fast. The small twigs falling off it year round are a real PITA! If it were desirable firewood it would be down by now!

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

it looks like an aspen to me, the whitish grey upper branches is why i say that.
And i'd guess the rain was condensation dripping off the tree. Was it early morning when you experienced the rain?

 

[hoot]

It was later in the afternoon. No recent rains. Sun was on the "other" side.

So I just went out to take more pictures. Didn't I get rained on while taking them? I think it's sap created by the pre-mature defoliation.

Here's more pictures. BTW this is the only one of it's kind I have seen around here.

 

[bigbarf48]

Definitely aspen

 

[hoot]

Yes looking at wiki the leaves are identical. I found a possible reason for the dripping. Tree aphids.... which might explain the early defoliation...
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/aphids-tree-disease.htm