86 Trees with Simple Leaves. [AII 



Tradition accounts differently for the motion of the 

 leaves. It says that the wood of the aspen tree was taken 

 for the Saviour's cross, and that, ever since, the tree has 

 shivered. 



Another tradition claims that, when Christ went by 

 on his way to Calvary, all the trees sympathized and 

 mourned, excepting the aspen ; but when he died, there 

 fell upon the aspen a sudden horror of remorse, and such 

 a fearful trembling as has never passed away. 



In describing the occupations of the fifty maidens in 

 the hall of the " gorgeous palace " of King Alcinous, 

 Homer says : 



" . . . some wove the web 

 Or twirled the spindle, sitting, with a quick 

 Light motion like the aspen's glancing leaves." 



Fig. 45. Large-toothed Aspen. P. grandidentata, Michaux. 

 Leaf, SIMPLE ; ALTERNATE J EDGE LARGE-TOOTHED, with 



the hollows rounded. 



Outline, wide egg-shape. Apex, sharp-pointed. Base, 

 squared, or slightly rounded. 



Leaf-stem, long and slender, and flattened sidewise. 



Leaf, three to five inches long, smooth on both sides 

 when mature ; white, and covered thickly with silky 

 wool when young. Ribs, whitish and distinct above. 



Bark of the trunk, smooth, and of a soft, light greenish- 

 gray ; when old, becoming somewhat cracked. On 

 the young branches the bark is dark. 



Found, in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, through the 

 Northern States, along the Alleghany Mountains to 

 North Carolina, and west to Wisconsin and Iowa. 

 Rare at the South, common at the North. 



