Trvi's of New Yorl,- Stale 131 



SALICACEAE 



Popuhis jiraiididc'iitata, ^riclix. 



Large-toothed Aspen 



Habit — A tree at maturity soiiietinies attaining a lieight of 00-75 feet with 

 a trunk diameter of 1-2 feet, usually 25-50 feet tall. Crown narrow, 

 round-topped, open, consisting of slender, rather rigid branches and stout 

 t\\'igs. This species propagates itself readily by root suckers. 



Leaves — Alternate, borne on long, slender, flattened petioles, broadly ovate 

 to orbicular, acute at the apex, rounded or broadly cuneate at the base, 

 coarsely and iiregularly dentate, 3-6 inches long, 2-4 inches wide, at 

 first densely wliite-tomentose, at maturity thin but firm in texture, dark 

 green and smooth above, paler ami smooth below. Stipules linear, Y^-'}^ 

 of an inch long, fugacious. 



Flowers — Appearing in late March and April before the leaves from separate 

 flower-buds, dioecious, borne in the axils of pale, gray-hairy scales which 

 are divided above into 4-6 short, acute lobes, the whole forming cylindri- 

 cal, hairy aments 1^2-21/2 inches long. Perianth wanting. Stamens 6-12, 

 with short, slender filaments and reddish anthers, inserted on an oblique, 

 shallow disk. Pistil solitary, enclosed at the base in the tubular, slightly 

 oblique disk, consisting of an oblong-conical, green, puberulous ovary, a 

 short style, and 2 spreading, lobed stigmas. 



Fruit — ■ A curved, oblique, conical, pedunculate capsule, at maturity pale 

 green and jiuberulous, thin-walled, Vs-V^ of an inch long. The capsules 

 are borne loosely in naked, pedunculate aments 5-6 inches long and open 

 in May as the leaves unfold to set free the minute, brown, white-comose 

 seeds. 



Winter characters — Twigs rather stout, lenticellate, smooth and lustrous or 

 gray-pubescent (especially toward the apex), dark reddish or yellowish 

 brown, at length dark gray and roughened by the leaf- and lateral twig- 

 scars. Flower- and leaf-buds distinct. Leaf-buds broadly ovate, divergent, 

 light chestnut-brown, grayish puberulous, covered by 6-7 rounded scales 

 (the first scale anterior), about Vs of an inch long. Flower-buds similar 

 but larger and more strongly divergent. Mature bark appearing tardily 

 at the base of old trees, dark brownish black, thick, firm, roughened by 

 fissures and broad, flat ridges. Bark higher on the bole and on the larger 

 limbs thinner, smooth, light greenish gray. 



Habitat — A " weed ' ' tree attaining its best development on rich, deep, moist 

 soils, but occurring over a wide range of habitats on dry, upland, sandy 

 or stony sites. 



Range — Nova Scotia southwest through southern Quebec and Ontario, in the 

 United States from Maine to Minnesota, south along the Appalachians to 

 North Carolina. Zones B, C, and D. 



Uses — Most important silviculturally because of the rapidity with which it 

 comes in on slashes and burns, establishing a forest cover wliich permits 

 more valuable species to rehabilitate themselves. Wood light, soft, weak, 

 close-grained, pale brown with nearly white sapwood. Used for excelsior, 

 pulp and occasionally for wooden ware. 



