DENDROLOGY. 255 



American Large Aspen. Populus grandidentata. 



The American Large Aspen belongs rather to the Northern 

 and Middle, than to the Southern States, in the upper parts 

 only of which it is found. North of the United States, this 

 poplar, though not one of the most rare, is not one of the most 

 common trees, and it is so thinly scattered over the face of the 

 country, that sometimes not a single stock is met with by the 

 traveller for several days. For this reason, probably it has been 

 confounded by the inhabitants with the American aspen, which 

 is more multiplied : as it surpasses the aspen in height, we have 

 given it the name of Large Aspen. It grows as favorably on 

 uplands as on the borders of swamps. 



This tree attains the height of about 40 feet with a diameter 

 of 10 or 12 inches. The trunk is straight and covered with a 

 smooth, greenish bark which is rarely cracked. Its branches 

 are few and scattered ; they ramify and become charged with 

 leaves only at their extremity, so that the interior of the summit 

 is void and of an ungrateful appearance. At their unfolding in 

 the spring the leaves are covered with a thick, white down, which 

 disappears with their growth, so that at the beginning of summer 

 they are perfectly smooth. The full-formed leaf is nearly round, 

 two or three inches in width, smooth on both sides, and bordered 

 with large teeth, from which is derived the latin specific name 

 of grandidentata. The flowers, which put forth in April, compose 

 aments about two inches long that appear in the infancy of the 

 leaves, and that, at this period, are thickly coated with down. 



The wood is light, soft, and unequal to that of the Virginian 

 and Lombardy poplars, and of little use. 



American Black Poplar. Populus hudsonica. 



This poplar is found ppincipally on the banks of the river 

 Hudson, above Albany and in the Canadas, and is a stranger to 

 the other parts of the United States. 



