Aspen Trees
 
Description: Often called AGolden, Trembling, or Quaking Aspen, this tree is the most widely distributed native tree in North America. The name refers to the leaves, which tremble in the slightest breeze. It is common in the higher mountains of the western two-thirds of New Mexico.
 
Aspens pioneer on burned areas and serve as a nurse crop to conifers that eventually replace them. They spread readily from suckers and root sprouts; and, in fact, a grove of aspens in Utah is the largest known living organism on Earth, covering thousands of acres. Aspen stands are preferred cover for deer and elk and contribute feed to these animals and also to squirrels, rabbits, beaver, and other mammals.
 

Leaves: Broad, nearly round, leaves with pointed apex, and finely serrated edges, which are attached to the limbs with a flattened petiole or stem. Leaves are shiny green above, dull green beneath, and turn a spectacular golden yellow in the fall.

Fruit: One-quarter inch long; narrowly conical, light green capsules in drooping catkins (capsules). In midsummer, these seed capsules burst open and release extremely light, cottony seeds that are easily wind-borne. However, these are rarely produced in the West, where propagation is primarily by root sprouts.

 

Soils: Grows in many soil types, especially sandy and gravelly slopes.

Water Needs: Once established, can grow well in semi-arid conditions.

Care: A fast-growing, tough tree, which requires little maintenance.

Hardiness Zones: Grows in Rocky Mountains south to New Mexico, 6,500’ to 10,000’. (Zones 3-7, but only where summers are not too hot, and usually requires sharply cold winters to grow best.)

 

Height: 40 feet to 70 feet, but rarely taller than 50 feet, and seldom more than 20 inches in diameter.

Aspens tend to grow in pure stands as a result of this clonal reproductive strategy. This makes them visually cohesive in the landscape, and also provides particular habitat that make them an important tree ecologically (discussed in Natural History).
 

Combined with their ability to exploit rare opportunities for sexual reproduction, this  two-pronged reproductive strategy has enabled aspen to maintain a broad range spatially and temporally (Mitton and Grant 1996) (see Distribution).

Fire has historically been the disturbance force that enabled aspen to out-compete taller, more shade tolerant tree species, for it is in early seral stages that aspen has the distinct advantage with its clonal reproduction.

Aspen themselves don't burn easily—some firefighters even called them the ‘asbestos tree' (Engle 1991). But when they do get burned, they are not hardy. The root mass immediately puts energy into sprouting suckers, which grow quickly in the open sun and renewed soil.

Information courtesy of: https://bss.sfsu.edu
BACK TO TOP