Ql UtING iSPl A 

 Populua tremuloidea Atichi 



The NN illow 1 ami I J 

 BALK I 



Habit and Habitat: A tree, varying ill height from L6 to l" 

 feet, with ■ trunk diameter of ■"> to -<> inch< >metin n in the 



form of low scrubby bush. The crown is usually to pen, and 



a rule is roundish in form: the twigs are slender. The species p •■ 

 the moist, gravelly soils of canyon bottoms and north slopes, although 

 frequently found in drier sites also. 



Leaves and Bods: The loaves are alternate, simple, with lone, 

 flat petioles and broadly orbicular or roundish in outline, with numerous 

 shallow and rounded teeth on the margin, dark green above and pale 

 beneath, turning bright yellow or orange in the autumn, in almost con- 

 stant vibration in even the slightest breeze, hence the common name. 

 The buds are narrowly conical, pointed, reddisb-brown and usually 

 glossy, and from }£ to % inch long. 



Flowers and Fruit: Flowers appearing in April as a rule, pre- 

 ceding the loaves, borne in catkins which emerge from the buds near 

 the tips of the twigs. The stam inate, or male, flowers are in dense 

 catkins which are 2 to 3 inches long. The pistillate, or female, flowers 

 are also borne in catkins of about the same size but not so d< and 



are usually more or less reddish. The fruits are arranged in elongated 

 clusters which mature in May or June. Each fruit is an oblong, short- 

 stalked capsule about % inch long which splits into two parts and bears 

 numerous light brown seeds each with a tuft of cottony hair 



Bark. Twigs and Wood: On the larger twigs and older branches 

 the bark is greenish or almost white and is often more or less granular 

 on the surface, while on the main trunk and at the base of the tree it 

 becomes fissured and darkened in color. The bark of the younger twigs 

 is usually smooth and shiny and more or less reddish-brown. The wood 

 is light in weight and colored white to light brown, soft, close-grained, 

 not durable in contact with the soil, warps badly unless carefully 

 seasoned. 



Distribution in the State: Found only in the Pine Ridr. on 



of Sioux and Dawes counties in the northwestern corner of the state and 

 in a few widely scattered areas in the sandhills. This is a northern tree 

 which has barely become established in the state probably coming in via 

 the Black Hills where it is abundant. Map 11. 



Remarks: With us the quaking aspen is little more than a curios- 

 ity although it does occasionally grow to the of fine trees in Sioux 

 county where it might be used for fuel. The wood is not sufficiently dur- 

 able in contact with the soil to warrant its use for posts or poles. If 

 produced in quantity it might be used in rough construction. The 

 quaking aspen is a close relative of our common Cottonwood but it 

 not nearly so desirable a tree for planting in Nebraska. It is f 

 quentl in public parks. 



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