SAUCACEAE 

 Largctooth Aspen 



Populus grandidentata Michx. 



HABIT. A medium-sized tree 30-50 feet high, with a slen- 

 der trunk 12-20 inches in diameter ; forming a loose, oval or 

 rounded crown of slender, spreading branches and coarse spray. 



LEAVES. Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long, two-thirds as 

 broad ; orbicular-ovate ; coarsely and irregularly sinuate-toothed ; 

 thin and firm; dark green above, paler beneath, glabrous both 

 sides; petioles long, slender, laterally compressed. 



FLOWERS. April, before the leaves; dioecious; the stam- 

 inate in short-stalked catkins 1-3 inches long; the pistillate in 

 loose-flowered, long-stalked catkins at first about the same length, 

 but gradually elongating; calyx o; corolla o; stamens 6-12, with 

 red anthers; stigmas 2, 2-lobed, red. 



FRUIT. May; 2-valved, conical, acute, hairy capsules 1 A 

 inch long, borne in drooping catkins 4-6 inches long; seeds 

 minute, dark brown, hairy. 



WINTER-BUDS. Terminal bud */$ inch long, ovoid to 

 conical, acute, light chestnut, puberulous, dusty-looking. 



BARK. Twigs greenish gray and at first hoary-tomentose, 

 becoming lustrous, orange or red-brown and finally greenish 

 gray ; thick, dark red-brown or blackish at the base of old trunks, 

 irregularly fissured, with broad, flat ridges. 



WOOD. Light, soft, weak, close-grained, light brown, 

 with thin, whitish sap wood. 



DISTRIBUTION. A common tree in the northern portions 

 of the Lower Peninsula, but rare in the Upper Peninsula. 



HABITAT. Prefers rich, moist, sandy soil; borders of 

 swamps; river-banks; hillsides. 



NOTES. Grows rapidly in many soils. Easily transplanted-. 

 Short-lived. Useful for temporary effect. Propagated from seed 

 or cuttings. 



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