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| ## quaking aspen {#quaking-aspen .Title-Header}                       |
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| *Populus tremuloides* Michx.                                          |
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| Plant Symbol = POTR5                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & the Biota of
North America Program

## Alternate Names

Trembling aspen, golden aspen, mountain aspen, trembling poplar, white
poplar, popple; aspen

## Uses

*Industry*: Quaking aspen is an important fiber source, especially for
pulp, flake-board, and other composite products. The wood is light and
soft with little shrinkage (see Wheeler 2000) and is used for pallets,
boxes, veneer, and plywood. Higher grades are used for other solid wood
products, such as paneling, furniture components, and flooring. The wood
characteristics make it useful in miscellaneous products, including
excelsior, animal bedding, matchsticks, toys, beehives, tongue
depressors, spoons, and ice cream sticks. It makes good playground
structures because the surface does not splinter, although the wood
warps and susceptible to decay.

*Conservation*: Quaking aspen is valued for its white bark and brilliant
fall color, especially when clustered. The species been widely used in
landscaping but is best in sites away from structures that might be
damaged by the aggressive roots. The trees provide good visual screening
and noise abatement.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6972222222222224in" height="3.40625in"}

Aspen stands are good firebreaks, often dropping crown fires in conifer
stands to the ground when they reach aspens and even sometimes
extinguishing the fire because of the small amount of flammable
accumulation. They allow more ground water recharge than do conifer
forests and they also play a significant role in protecting against soil
erosion. They have been used in restoration of riparian habitats.

*Wildlife*: Young quaking aspen provides food and habitat for a variety
of wildlife: black bear, deer, beaver, porcupine, elk, moose, ruffed
grouse and many smaller birds and animals, including small mammals such
as mice, voles, shrews, chipmunks, and rabbits. Bark, buds, new sprouts,
twigs from the tops of fallen or logged trees, and fallen leaves all are
wildlife foods.

*Ethnobotanic*: Native Americans used *Populus* bark (including aspen)
as a food source. They cut the inner bark into strips, dried and ground
it into meal to be mixed with other starches for bread or mush. Catkins
were eaten raw, and the cambium was eaten raw or in a soup.

## Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

## Description 

*General*: Willow Family (Salicaceae): This is a native tree 5-30 m
high, typically less than 15 m, with a rounded crown; lateral roots may
extend over 30 meters and vertical sinker roots from the laterals may
extend downward for nearly 3 m; bark typically smooth, greenish-white to
gray-white, often thin and peeling, becoming thicker and furrowed with
age, especially toward the base. Leaves simple, deciduous, broadly ovate
to nearly round, 4--6 cm long, with small, rounded teeth on the margins,
on a slender, flattened petiole, dark green and shiny above, pale green
below, turning bright yellow, yellow-orange, gold, or reddish after the
first frosts. The male (staminate) and female (pistillate) flowers are
on separate trees (the species dioecious -- or 'polygamodioecious,'
because bisexual flowers may be produced at low frequencies on staminate
and pistillate trees), each type of flower borne in pendent catkins. The
fruits are narrowly ovoid to flask-shaped capsules 5-7 mm long,
splitting to release the seeds; seeds ca.2 mm long, each with a tuft of
long, white, silky hairs, easily blown by the wind. The common name is
in reference to the shaking of the leaves in light wind.

*Variation within the species*: Considerable genetic and morphological
variation exists over the range of quaking aspen. A number of species
and varieties have been described but none are currently recognized.
Entire stands are often produced as a single clone from root sprouts --
this sometimes easily observable on a single mountainside in different
timing in leaf appearance or in different hues and timing of fall
coloration. Distinctively large triploid trees are sometimes found.

Quaking aspen hybridizes naturally with bigtooth aspen (*Populus
grandidentata*), narrowleaf cottonwood (*P. angustifolia*), curly poplar
(*P. canescens*), balsam poplar (*P. balsamifera*), eastern cottonwood
(*P. deltoides*), and white poplar (*Populus alba*, a naturalized
European species), and hybrids with black cottonwood (*P. trichocarpa*)
occur rarely in Alaska. Quaking aspen, bigtooth aspen, European aspen
(*P. tremula*), and three Asian species are closely related and
sometimes classed together as a single, circumglobal superspecies (see
Peterson and Peterson 1992).

## Distribution

Quaking aspen is the most widely distributed tree species in North
America. It grows from Alaska across the Northwest Territories to Quebec
and Newfoundland, south to West Virginia and Virginia, and in all of the
western North America US states (except Oklahoma and Kansas) \-- in all
Canadian provinces and all but 13 US states (absent from the Southeast).
It occurs in both the eastern and western sierras of Mexico, into the
south-central part of the country. Outside of the main range, it is
represented by a huge number of disjunct populations. For current
distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on
the PLANTS Web site.

## Adaptation 

Quaking aspen occurs in a wide variety of habitats (including soil type
and moisture conditions) and at a great range of elevation, matching its
extensive geographic range. It characteristically forms pure stands or
mixed stands with bigtooth aspen, but it occurs with scrub oaks and
sagebrush at lower elevations and as a prostrate form above timberline
and exists as a dominant species in many communities at mid elevations.
It is a shade-intolerant, disturbed site species and is quickly replaced
in succession by more tolerant species.

Some trees are self-pruning, dropping numerous small twigs with excess
fall foliage and returning nutrients to the soil. Leaves decay
relatively rapidly, and a characteristic \"aspen soil,\" with a higher
pH than on conifer-dominated soils, develops on sites that have
supported aspen for a number of generations.

Flowering occurs March--April (East) or May--June (West), before the
leaves appear and fruiting in May--June (--July), often before the
leaves are fully expanded. Temperatures above 12° C for about 6 days
apparently trigger flowering. Female trees generally flower and leaf out
before male trees.

## Establishment

Quaking aspen commonly establishes from seed in Alaska, northern Canada,
and eastern North America. Seedling establishment is less common in the
West but occurs there in moist sites such as kettles and other
topographic depressions, seeps, springs, lake margins, and burnt-out
riparian zones. Drought stress kills seedlings, as does standing water.

Young trees first flower at 2-3 years but production of large seed crops
begins at about 10-20 years; maximum seed production occurs at 50-70
years. Heavy seed crops are produced at 4-5-year intervals. Seeds are
wind-dispersed for distances of 500 meters to several kilometers.

Germination generally begins nearly immediately after moisture is
received and can occur across a broad temperature range, with optimal
germination at 15-25° C. Surface placement or a very shallow depth of
burial on exposed mineral soil (such as burned or scarified sites)
apparently provide the best environment for germination. Continuous
moisture is required.

*Asexual reproduction and clones*

Reproduction of quaking aspen is primarily by root sprouts, and
extensive clones of root-interconnected trees are characteristic of the
species. Most root sprouts develop within 10 meters of the parent stem,
although some are produced at 30 meters or more. They develop from roots
within 2-10 centimeters of the surface. Growth in primordia and buds is
suppressed by apical dominance but resumes after stems are top-killed by
fire, harvest or wind-breakage, or after defoliation and many thousands
of sprouts per acre may be produced. Removal of the above-ground plant
portion in June or July after maximum auxin production (the chemical
agent of apical dominance) results in fewer suckers than top-removal
during the dormant season. Sprouts produced in a closed stand usually
die unless in a canopy gap. Saplings may begin producing root sprouts at
1 year of age.

Stands of quaking aspen may consist of a single clone or represent a
mosaic of different clones. Even in a small area, wide variation in
genetic traits exists between clones -- differences may be seen in leaf
shape and size, bark colour and texture, branching habit, resistance to
disease and insect attack, sexual expression, growth rate, and
phenology. The most conspicuous differences may be in the timing of
spring leaf flush and in autumn leaf coloration.

The staminate-pistillate ratio of clones is 1:1 in most localities, but
in the eastern US staminate trees may outnumber pistillate ones by 3:1.
Some clones alternate between staminate and pistillate forms in
different years or produce combinations of perfect, staminate, and
pistillate flowers.

Individual trees of quaking aspen are short-lived (maximum age in the
Great Lakes states is 50--60 years, up to 150 years in the West). Stands
may be even-aged (after a single top-kill event) or only broadly
even-aged (from sprouting of a gradually deteriorating stand). The
clones are much older: many in the Rocky Mountain and Great Basin
regions are at least 8000 years old, persisting since the last glacial
retreat. A male clone in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah occupies 17.2
acres (43 ha) and has more than 47,000 stems -- this clone is estimated
to be 1 million years old and may be the world\'s most massive known
organism. Clones east of the Rocky Mountains usually cover no more than
a few acres.

## Management

The thin, soft bark of quaking aspen makes it susceptible to many
diseases and insect infestations as well as mechanical and fire damage.
Fires may kill trees or cause basal scars that serve as entry points for
wood-rotting fungi, which are common in older stands. The wood decays
easily. Fires may also kill surface roots that could reduce sucker
regeneration.

The poplar borer beetle, one of the most common wood borers of aspen,
weakens trees by boring galleries in the trunk near the lower portion of
the crown. Outbreaks of forest tent caterpillar may last 4-5 years and
result in serious defoliation \-- cold weather in the spring shortly
after the eggs hatch and above-average fall temperatures can cause a
rapid decline in caterpillar populations by killing eggs and larvae.
Overgrazing by livestock or big-game animals disturbs roots and compacts
soil, limiting sucker formation. Heavy grazing of young sucker stands by
cattle for three years in a row may destroy them.

Quaking aspen can be propagated by seed, following cold stratification.
Germination of fresh seed may be 80-95%, but viability lasts only 2-4
weeks under favorable natural conditions (low temperature and humidity).
Seeds dried for 3 days and stored at cool temperatures may retain good
viability for up to a year.

The species roots poorly from woody stem cuttings, but newly initiated
(softwood) shoots can usually be induced to root by dipping in IBA
(indolebutyric acid) or other commercially available rooting powders. A
more preferred method uses root sprouts. Collect dormant lateral roots
in early spring \-- plant root cuttings 1-2 in diameter and 3-5
centimeters long in vermiculite and place in the greenhouse for 6 weeks.
Excise the young sucker shoots and root in perlite/vermiculite (2-3
weeks, using IBA), misting frequently. Transplant the developing plants
to peat/vermiculite mix and grow at 15-25º C. Or, the root cuttings may
be planted directly into the perlite mix, with the top of the cutting
just below the media surface.

## Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

## References

Bozie, T. 1999. *The aspen tree (Populus tremuloides). In your woodlot,
Vol. 8, Issue #3*. Farm Woodlot Assoc. of Saskatchewan. SEP00.
\<http://www.aginfonet.com/agricarta/content/farm_woodlot_assoc_of_sask/aspen.html\>

Perala, D. A. 1990. *Populus tremuloides. Michx. Quaking aspen*. Pp.
555-569, IN: R.M. Burns and B.H. Honkala. *Silvics of North America.
Volume 2. Hardwoods*. USDA Forest Service Agric. Handbook 654,
Washington, D.C.
\<http://willow.ncfes.umn.edu/silvics_manual/Volume_2/populus/tremuloides.htm\>
Accessed September 2000.

Peterson, E. B. & N. M. Peterson 1992. *Ecology, management, and use of
aspen and balsam poplar in the Prairie Provinces, Canada*. Special
Report 1. Forestry Canada, Northwest Region, Northern Forestry Centre,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Prasad, A. M. & L. R. Iverson 1999. *A climate change atlas for 80
forest tree species of the eastern United States*. USDA, Forest Service,
Northeastern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio. SEP00.
\<http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/delaware/atlas/\>

The Australian Naturopathic Network 2000. *Populus tremuloides*. SEP00.
\<http://www.ann.com.au/herbs/Monographs/populus.htm\>

Tirmenstein, D. 1988 (rev. J.L. Howard 1996). *Populus tremuloides*. IN:
D. G. Simmerman (compiler). *The fire effects information system* \[Data
base\]. USDA, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station,
Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, Montana. AUG00.
\<http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/poptre/\>

Wheeler, E. E. 2000. *Forest Products -- Commercial Species*. Dept. of
Community and Economic Development. Alaska Division of Trade and
Development. AUG00. \<http://www.dced.state.ak.us/econdev/tree5.htm\>

## *Prepared By*

*Guy Nesom*

Formerly BONAP, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

## *Species Coordinator*

## *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Sciences Dept., Davis,
California

Edited: 19jun02 jsp; 29may03 ahv; 060808 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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