Quaking Aspen
Populus tremuloides
Family Salicaceae

Characteristics:
* Leaves heart-shaped, with 20-40 pair of fine teeth, 2-6".
* Leafstalk flattened making the leaf flutter in the slightest breeze.
* Twigs hairless, dark brown.
* Mature bark smooth, chalk white to yellow-green.
* Height: 20-50'.

Natural History:
* Habitat: Dry forests, areas that have been disturbed by fire.
* Range: Throughout much of the United States and Canada.
* Native.

Connections!
* Quaking aspen grows in groves that seem to whisper when the wind rustles their leaves. Naturalist Donald Culross Peattie described the effect of aspens in the wind: "...as they rustle they also twinkle, their lustrous upper surfaces forever catching the light like thousands of little mirrors flashed in mischievous fingers to dazzle the eyes." (1950)

* Quaking aspen wood is of relatively poor quality, but since the tree can regenerate quickly in disturbed areas, it is being harvested for wood pulp.