Populus tremuloides Michx.
trembling aspen (quaking aspen)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
trembling aspen (quaking aspen)
Salicaceae (Willow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Dioecious tree up to 25 m tall; colonial; branches greenish-white; twigs greenish-white, smooth.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, simple, broadly egg-shaped, kidney-shaped or circular, 2.5-9 cm long, 2.5-8 cm wide, the bases rounded to slightly heart-shaped, smooth, finely toothed and fringed with long white hairs, upper side green, lower side paler; leaf stalks 2-7.5 cm long; buds smooth.
Flowers:
Borne in catkins; male catkins 2-3 cm long, soon deciduous, with 6-14 stamens; female catkins 4-10 cm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, lanceolate to narrowly egg-shaped, carpels 2, smooth, short-stalked.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Blue
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: White
Present from Spring to Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Populus tremuloides
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
939 | 6 | 2400 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
19 | -2 | 230 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
199 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
6054 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), BG(53), BWBS(1066), CDF(5), CWH(42), ESSF(219), ICH(964), IDF(1013), MH(1), MS(458), PP(69), SBPS(258), SBS(1504), SWB(70) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to dry ravines, depressions, meadows, ridges, upland forests and occasionally on floodplains in the lowland and montane zones; common throughout BC, except infrequent on SW coast, absent on Queen Charlotte Islands; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NY, NC, IN, AR, TX, NM, AZ, CA and MX.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Populus polygonifolia Bernard
Populus polygonifolia Bernard
Populus aurea Tidestr.
Populus cercidiphylla Britt.
Populus tremula subsp. tremuloides (Michx.) A.& D. L÷ve
Populus tremuloides var. aurea (Tidestr.) Daniels
Populus tremuloides var. cercidiphylla (Britt.) Sudworth
Populus tremuloides var. intermedia Victorin
Populus tremuloides var. magnifica Victorin
Populus tremuloides var. rhomboidea Victorin
Populus tremuloides var. tremuloides
Populus tremuloides var. vancouveriana (Trel.) Sarg.
Populus vancouveriana Trel.