124 
AMERICAN ASPEN. 
the preceding ; its leaves are three times as large, perfectly heart-shaped, 
and, often, they have hairy petioles : but in both species the leaves are of 
the same color, and preserve, at all stages of their growth, the same shape, 
which is invariable upon young sprouts and upon old trees. 
The buds of this species, like those of the Balsam Poplar, are covered 
in the spring, with a resinous balsamic substance, of an agreeable odor. 
The Heart-leaved Balsam Poplar attains the height of 40 or 50 feet, 
with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches. The trunk is clad in a smooth, green- 
ish hark and the wood is soft and unfit for use. The foliage is tufted and 
of a dark green tint, but the irregular disposition of the branches gives an 
inelegant appearance to the tree. In the spring the ripe seeds, garnished 
with down, are borne by the wind into the houses, and alight upon the fur- 
niture and upon the food ; for. this reason some persons have substituted 
for this species the Lombardy Poplar, a picturesque tree in every respect 
superior to it, whose limbs are compressed about the trunk so as not to 
interfere with the walls nor to obstruct the windows. 
PLATE XCVIII. 
Fig. 2, A branch of the natural size from a large tree. 
AMERICAN ASPEN. 
Populus tremuloïdes. P. foliis subcordatis, abrupt è acuminatis, serrulatis; 
margine pubescentibus. 
This species of Poplar is common in the Northern and Middle Sections 
of the United States, and, from my father’s manuscript notes, appears to 
be still more abundant in Lower Canada. In the vicinity of New York 
and Philadelphia, where I have particularly observed it, I have remarked 
that it prefers open lands of a middling quality. Its ordinary height is 
about 30 feet, and its diameter 5 or 6 inches. The bark of the trunk is 
greenish and smooth, except on the base of the oldest trees, where it 
becomes furrowed. 
The American Aspen blooms about the 20th of April, ten days or a 
fortnight before the birth of the leaves. The aments, which spring from 
the extremity of the branches, are composed of silky plumes, and are of an 
