The bigtooth aspen is widely distributed in Ohio. The name bigtooth comes from the coarsely-toothed leaves.
Young trees have smooth, greenish-gray bark which becomes brownish and furrowed with age.
It is a relatively short-lived tree, whose soft, light wood is cut primarily for pulp. However, the bigtooth aspen produces large quantities of very hardy seeds which may be scattered over large areas by the wind. The trees grow so rapidly that an area that has been cut or burned out may be very quickly reforested without man's intervention.