Aspens are trees of the willow family and comprise a section of the poplar genus, Populus sect. Populus. There are six species in the section, one of them atypical, and one hybrid: The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... Genera See text. ... This article is about woody plants of the genus Populus. ...

• Populus adenopoda: Chinese Aspen (China, south of P. tremula)
• Populus sieboldii: Japanese Aspen (Japan)
• Populus alba: White Poplar (northwest Africa, southern Europe, east to central Asia)
• Populus × canescens: Grey Poplar (hybrid P. alba × P. tremula)
• Populus tremula: Common, Swedish, Trembling or Eurasian Aspen (northern Europe & Asia)
• Populus tremuloides: Quaking, Trembling or American Aspen (northern & western North America)
• Populus grandidentata: Bigtooth Aspen (eastern North America, south of P. tremuloides)

The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the far north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south only at high altitudes in mountains. The White Poplar by contrast is native to much warmer regions, with hot, dry summers. They are all medium-sized deciduous trees reaching 15–25 m tall, exceptionally to 30 m. Binomial name Populus alba L. The White Poplar (Populus alba) is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens (Populus sect. ... Binomial name Populus alba L. The White Poplar (Populus alba) is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens (Populus sect. ... Binomial name L. Populus tremula is the Common Aspen (or Eurasian Aspen), a deciduous tree of the poplar family. ... Binomial name Populus tremuloides Michx. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... For other uses, see Mountain (disambiguation). ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off) and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ...

Aspens (apart from the aberrant White Poplar) are distinguished by their nearly round leaves on mature trees, 9–16 cm diameter with irregular rounded teeth. They are carried on strongly flattened leaf stems, which enable the leaves to twist and flutter in the slightest of breezes. The juvenile leaves on young seedlings and root sprouts differ markedly from the adult leaves, nearly triangular, showing here the typical leaf shape of most other poplars; they are also often much larger, 13–26 cm long. The five typical aspens are distinguished from each other by leaf size and the size and spacing of the teeth on the adult leaves. White Poplar leaves differ in being deeply five-lobed, covered in thick white down, and having only a slightly flattened leaf stem. Look up foliage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about woody plants of the genus Populus. ...

All the aspens (including White Poplar) typically grow in large colonies derived from a single seedling, and spreading by means of root suckers; new stems in the colony may appear at up to 30–40 m from the parent tree. Each tree only lives for 40–150 years above ground, but the root system of the colony is long-lived, in some cases for many thousands of years, sending up new trunks as the older trunks die off above ground. For this reason it is considered to be an indicator of ancient woodlands. One such colony in Utah, given the nickname of "Pando", is claimed to be 80,000 years old, making it possibly the oldest living colony. Some aspen colonies become very large with time, spreading about a metre per year, eventually covering many hectares. They are able to survive intense forest fires as the roots are below the heat of the fire, with new sprouts growing after the fire is out. However, aspens do not thrive very well in the shade, and it is difficult for aspen seedlings to grow in an already mature aspen stand. Fire indirectly benefits aspen trees, as it allows the saplings to flourish in open sunlight on account of the burned landscape. Lately aspen has increased its popularity in forestry, mostly because of its fast growth rate and ability to regenerate from sprouts, which makes the regeneration of the forest after harvesting much cheaper, as no planting or sowing is required. A clonal colony is a group of plants (or fungi) that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively, not sexually, from a given single ancestor. ... For other uses, see Root (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article or section seems to contain too many examples (or of a poor quality) for an encyclopedia entry. ... The Pando Stamp Pando (or The Trembling Giant[1]) is a clonal colony of a single male Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) tree located in the U.S. state of Utah, all determined to be part of a single living organism by identical genetic markers,[2] and one massive underground root... This is a list of long-living organisms. ... A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, peat fire (gambut in Indonesia), bushfire (in Australasia), or hill fire, is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources. ...

In contrast with many trees, aspen bark is base-rich, meaning that aspens are important hosts for bryophytes^[1] and act as food plants for the larvae of Lepidoptera species—see List of Lepidoptera that feed on poplars. A larval insect A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... The order Lepidoptera is the second most speciose order in the class Insecta and includes the butterflies, moths and skippers. ... Poplars (Populus spp. ...

Why do the leaves quake?

The unusual ability of the leaves of Populus to twist and bend due to the flattened petioles may not be fully understood. It is thought to help protect the trees from severe winds, perhaps by helping dissipate energy more uniformly throughout the canopy. ^[2] It is also thought to improve the rate of photosynthesis throughout the tree by reducing the exposure of the outer leaves to extreme sunlight (thus reducing photoinhibition) by presenting the leaves at an oblique angle to the sun throughout the day, while at the same time allowing more light through to the lower leaves which are generally overshaded. This would enable leaves throughout the tree to photosynthesize more efficiently. ^[3]

Cultural aspects and uses

The aspen tree's quivering leaves are, in Christian lore, said to be the result of arrogance at the Crucifixion because the aspen did not tremble like other trees. A German version claims that the aspen was the only tree to refuse to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus. The cross that Christ was crucified on is sometimes said to have been aspen wood. As aspens do not occur in Palestine, this legend is improbable^{[citation needed]}. Another old saying was that aspen leaves are made from female tongues, and their quivering is due to women's inability to stop talking^{[citation needed]}. Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... The Holy Land or Palestine Showing not only the Old Kingdoms of Judea and Israel but also the 12 Tribes Distinctly, and Confirming Even the Diversity of the Locations of their Ancient Positions and Doing So as the Holy Scriptures Indicate, a geographic map from the studio of Tobiae Conradi...

Emigrant Basque shepherds in the 19th and 20th century carved texts and figures on aspens of the American Southwest to express their loneliness. Languages Basque - few monoglots Spanish - 1,525,000 monoglots French - 150,000 monoglots Basque-Spanish - 600,000 speakers Basque-French - 76,000 speakers [4] other native languages Religions Traditionally Roman Catholic The Basques (Basque: ) are an indigenous people[5] who inhabit parts of northeastern Spain and southwestern France. ... For other uses, see Graffiti (disambiguation). ... Languages Basque - few monoglots Spanish - 1,525,000 monoglots French - 150,000 monoglots Basque-Spanish - 600,000 speakers Basque-French - 76,000 speakers [4] other native languages Religions Traditionally Roman Catholic The Basques (Basque: ) are an indigenous people[5] who inhabit parts of northeastern Spain and southwestern France. ...

The wood is white, and soft, but fairly strong, and with very low flammability. It has a number of uses, notably for making matches, where its low flammability makes it safer to use (easy to blow out) than most other woods. Shredded aspen wood is also a popular animal bedding, as it lacks the phenols associated with pine and juniper, which are thought to cause respiratory ailments in some animals. Heat treated aspen is a popular material for the interiors of a sauna. For other uses, see Wood (disambiguation). ... An igniting match A match is a consumable tool for producing fire under controlled circumstances on demand. ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Gallery

P. tremula (Eurasian Aspen) leaves; adult leaves and shoot left, juvenile leaf right Download high resolution version (893x737, 67 KB)Eurasian Aspen (Populus tremula) leaves: adult (left), juvenile (right) - photo User:MPF File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	P. tremuloides (Quaking Aspen) in New Mexico with fall foliage Download high resolution version (1379x833, 678 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ...	P. tremuloides (Quaking Aspen) with fall foliage, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2555x3692, 1037 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Alberta Aspen ... Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km² (4200 mi²). It is located in the province of Alberta, to the north of Banff National Park and west of the city of Edmonton. ... Motto: Fortis et liber(Latin) Strong and free Capital Edmonton Largest city Calgary Official languages English (see below) Government - Lieutenant-Governor Norman Kwong - Premier Ed Stelmach (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 28 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (split from Northwest Territories) (8th [Province]) Area Ranked...	Fall Aspen Trees in the La Salle Mountains.jpg P. tremuloides (Quaking Aspen), La Sal Mountains La Sal mountain range as seen from Arches National Park First snow in La Sal Forest The Manti-La Sal National Forest covers 1,413,111 acres (5,718 km²) and is located in the U.S. state of Utah. ...
P. tremuloides (Quaking Aspen), Little Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake County, Utah Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2288x1712, 919 KB) Summary Quaking Aspens, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake County, Utah Photo by Scott Catron, September 29, 2005 Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License... The quality of this article or section may be compromised by peacock terms. You can help Wikipedia by removing peacock terms. ... Salt Lake County is a county located in the state of Utah. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...	P. tremuloides (Quaking Aspen), Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 492 KB) Summary Populus tremuloides Description: Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides, fall foliage Viewpoint location: 20 m southeast of road NF-43 near Yoss Creek south of Wocus Bay, Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. ... The Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service located in the Klamath Basin of southern Oregon and northern California near Klamath Falls, Oregon. ...	P. tremuloides (Quaking Aspen), Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 962 KB) Summary Populus tremuloides Description: Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides, fall foliage. ... The Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service located in the Klamath Basin of southern Oregon and northern California near Klamath Falls, Oregon. ...	P. grandidentata (Bigtooth Aspen) in Massachusetts Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 1. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

References and external links

1. ^ The Biodiversity and Management of Aspen woodlands: Proceedings of a one-day conference held in Kingussie, Scotland, on 25th May 2001
2. ^ William R. Chaney, Purdue University: How Wind Affects Trees
3. ^ Ernest Williams: Field Trip Guide for Utica Marsh: Quaking Aspen

• Aspen Information Resource, U.K.
• Quaking Aspen Forests of the Colorado Plateau