quaking aspen

(Populus tremuloides)

Conservation Status
quaking aspen
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5? - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

FAC - Facultative

     
  Midwest

FAC - Facultative

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Quaking aspen is a very common and very widespread hardwood tree. It may be the most widely distributed tree in North America. It is the most abundant tree in Minnesota. It is a successional species that pioneers disturbed sites and is gradually replaced by slower-growing species. It is fast growing and short lived, commonly lasting only 80 to 100 years. Older individuals can survive up to 200 years. It reproduces rapidly by root suckers often forming large clonal colonies. Mature trees in the state are usually 40 to 60 tall and 7 to 12 in diameter at breast height. Large individuals can reach over 90 in height. Some of the tallest quaking aspens in North America are in north-central Minnesota.

It rises on a single stem from a shallow, wide-spreading root system. On well-drained soils it develops a many large and small, branched roots extending horizontally, diagonally, and vertically from the trunk in all directions (heart root system).

The trunk is slender and free of branches on the lower part. The branches are short and stout. The crown is narrow, open, and rounded.

The bark on young trees is smooth with a waxy appearance, and pale grayish-green to whitish-green or almost white. It does not peel like paper birch. As it ages it becomes thick and gray or brown, with broad, flat ridges and shallow furrows, at least near the base of the tree.

The current-season twigs are slender, shiny, hairless, and dark green or reddish-brown with oval, orange dots (lenticels). They are round in cross section and have star-shaped pith. They turn gray and rough in the second year. Quaking aspen is self-pruning, dropping numerous twigs with the leaves in autumn.

Terminal buds are brown, hairless, slightly resinous, and have a shiny or varnished appearance. They are not aromatic. They are about ¼ long, slender, cone-shaped, and pointed. They are covered with 6 or 7 bud scales. Lateral buds are similar but smaller. They are appressed against the twig with the tip pointing inwards. The leaf scars are small and triangular with 3 bundle scars.

The leaves are deciduous, alternate, thin, firm, and not lobed or divided (simple). They hang downward on hairless, 1 to 2¾ long leaf stalks. The leaf stalks are flattened perpendicular to the plane of the leaf blade, at least near the blade attachment. It is often longer than the leaf blade. The flattened leaf stalk causes the leaf to tremble, or quake, in the wind, giving the tree its common name. The leaf blades are broadly egg-shaped to almost round, 1 to 3 long, and 1¼ to 3 wide. They are 0.9 to 1.2 times as long as wide. They taper abruptly at the tip to a short point with concave sides along the tip. They are broadly rounded or almost straight across at the base. The upper surface is dark green or bluish green, shiny or waxy, and hairless. The lower surface is similar but paler green. The margins are finely toothed with 20 to 50 irregular, shallow, blunt teeth per side. The teeth do not have embedded glands. There are no visible warty glands where the leaf blade attaches to the stalk. In autumn the leaves turn bright yellow.

Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. They appear before the leaves in early April to early mid-May. Both male and female flowers are borne in crowded, pendulous, stalkless catkins on 2nd year branchlets. Male catkins are 1 to 3 long, female catkins are 1 to 2 long. Female catkins elongate when fruiting, becoming 1½ to 6 long.

The fruit is an egg-shaped, to ¼ long, 2-valved capsule. Each capsule contains numerous seeds. The seeds are released early mid-May to early June. They have cottony hairs attached and are dispersed by wind.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

40 to 60

 
     
 

Record

 
 

The champion quaking aspen in Minnesota is in St. Loius County on public property in or near Voyageurs National Park. In 2020 it was measured at 103 tall and 126 in circumference (40 in diameter), with a crown spread of 40.

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Reddish or greenish-yellow

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) bark on young trees is greenish-brown. The leaf stalks are rounded, not flattened. The leaf blades much longer, 3 to 6 long, 1.3 to 2.3 times as long as wide. The underside of the leaf usually has blotchy, copper-colored stains. Each tooth on the leaf margin has a small, embedded gland.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Dry to moist. Uplands. Full sun.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

Early April to early mid-May

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

Gall midge (Harmandiola cavernosa)

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 24, 28, 29, 30.

 
  6/2/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Very common and widespread

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Rosanae  
 

Order

Malpighiales (nances, willows, and allies)  
 

Family

Salicaceae (willow)  
  Subfamily Salicoideae  
  Tribe Saliceae  
  Genus Populus (poplars, cottonwoods, and aspens)  
  Section Populus (aspens and allies)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

 

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Populus aurea

Populus cercidiphylla

Populus X polygonifolia

Populus tremula ssp. tremuloides

Populus tremuloides var. aurea

Populus tremuloides var. cercidiphylla

Populus tremuloides var. intermedia

Populus tremuloides var. magnifica

Populus tremuloides var. rhomboidea

Populus tremuloides var. vancouveriana

Populus vancouveriana

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

golden aspen

mountain aspen

popple

poplar

quaking aspen

trembling aspen

trembling poplar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Catkin

A slim, cylindrical, drooping cluster of many flowers. The flowers have no petals and are either male or female but not both.

 

Clone

A group of genetically identical individual plants derived from a single parent plant by means of vegetative reproduction.

 

Heart root system

A root system in which many large and small, branched roots extend horizontally, diagonally, and vertically from the trunk in all directions.

 

Lenticel

A corky, round or stripe-like, usually raised, pore-like opening in bark that allows for gas exchange.

 

Simple leaf

A leaf that is not divided into leaflets, though it may be deeply lobed or cleft.

 

Sucker

A basal shoot rising from the roots or from a bud at the base of a shrub or tree.

 
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

Share your photo of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.
 
 

Dan W. Andree

 
 

October Aspens...

Almost look like birch trees. They caught my eye with the overcast sky in the background and lighting in the foreground set them off.

  quaking aspen  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Tree

 
    quaking aspen      
           
 

Bark

 
    quaking aspen      
           
 

Leaves

 
    quaking aspen   quaking aspen  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Populus tremuloides
Blake C. Willson
 
  Populus tremuloides  
 
About

Trembling Aspen

 
  Populus tremuloides
Matt Lavin
 
  Populus tremuloides  
 
About

Native tree to 45 m tall, with generally smooth white bark from the base (furrowed with age), orbicular leaf blades born from laterally flattened petioles, throughout the western half of Montana along streams, in wetlands, and on slopes north-facing and similarly protected slopes.

 

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

Share your video of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.
 
 

 

 
     
     
       
       
 
Other Videos
 
  Tress with Don Leopold- quaking aspen
ESFTV
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Sep 23, 2011

No description available.

   
  Cool Things in Nature!!! Ecosode: Quaking Aspen!
coolthingsinnature
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on May 1, 2011

Hello and welcome to Cool Things in Nature! In today's ecosode, Coolia teaches us about the Quaking Aspen tree! It is possibly the largest organism on Earth! Watch and learn!

   
  Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Steve McGuinness
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Aug 28, 2009

Primary succession after a fire: the hummingbirds are loving those new flowers (Penstomen barbatus); they feed on those. Aspens are highly competitive after forest fires; they typically sprout when the soil temperature increases after a fire.

   
  Populus Tremuloides
TheCampusTrees
 
   
 
About

Published on Apr 2, 2012

Info about Quaking Aspen

   
  MyNature Apps; Identifying Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides
MyNatureApps
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on May 30, 2011

How to identify Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides

   

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this plant.

 
  This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.
 
  Dan W. Andree
10/11/2023

Location: Rural Norman Co. Mn.

Almost look like birch trees. They caught my eye with the overcast sky in the background and lighting in the foreground set them off.

quaking aspen  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Afton State Park

Agassiz Dunes SNA

Avon Hills Forest SNA, North Unit

Badoura Jack Pine Woodland SNA

Baker Park Reserve

Banning State Park

Beaver Creek Valley State Park

Belgium Prairie

Big Woods Heritage Forest WMA

Blackhoof River WMA

Blaine Preserve SNA

Blaine Wetland Sanctuary

Blanket Flower Prairie SNA

Blazing Star Prairie

Blue Devil Valley SNA

Blue Mounds State Park

Bonanza Prairie SNA

Boot Lake SNA

Brownsville Bluff SNA

Buffalo River State Park

Bunker Hills Regional Park

Butterwort Cliffs SNA

Camden State Park

Carley State Park

Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center

Carver Park Reserve

Cedar Mountain SNA

Charles A. Lindbergh State Park

Cherry Grove Blind Valley SNA

Chimney Rock SNA

Cleary Lake Regional Park

Clifton E. French Regional Park

Clinton Falls Dwarf Trout Lily SNA

Cottonwood River Prairie SNA

Crosby Farm Regional Park

Crow-Hassan Park Reserve

Des Moines River SNA

Dodge Nature Center

Dry Sand WMA

Edward Velishek Memorial WMA

Elm Creek Park Reserve

Englund Ecotone SNA

Falls Creek SNA

Felton Prairie SNA, Bicentennial Unit

Felton Prairie SNA, Shrike Unit

Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park

Fort Ridgely State Park

Franconia Bluffs SNA

Frenchman’s Bluff SNA

Frontenac State Park

Glacial Lakes Preserve

Glacial Lakes State Park

Glendalough State Park

Gneiss Outcrops SNA

Great River Bluffs State Park

Greenwater Lake SNA

Grey Cloud Dunes SNA

Gustafson’s Camp SNA

Hardscrabble Woods / MG Tusler Sanctuary

Hastings Sand Coulee SNA

Hayes Lake State Park

Helen Allison Savanna SNA

Hemlock Ravine SNA

Holthe Prairie SNA

Hyland Lake Park Reserve

Hythecker Prairie SNA

Iona’s Beach SNA

Iron Horse Prairie SNA

Iron Springs Bog SNA

Itasca State Park

Itasca Wilderness Sanctuary SNA

Jay Cooke State Park

Jensen Memorial WMA

John Murtaugh Memorial WMA

John Peter Hoffman Spring Brook Valley WMA

Joseph A. Tauer Prairie SNA

Kasota Prairie

Kasota Prairie SNA

Keller Regional Park

Kellogg Weaver Dunes SNA, Kellogg Weaver Unit

Kellogg Weaver Dunes SNA, Weaver Dunes Unit

Kilen Woods State Park

La Salle Lake SNA

Lake Alexander Woods SNA, South Unit

Lake Bronson State Park

Lake Byllesby Regional Park

Lake Carlos State Park

Lake Elmo Park Reserve

Lake Louise State Park

Lake Maria State Park

Lake Rebecca Park Reserve

Lebanon Hills Regional Park

Leif Mountain

Lester Lake SNA

Lost 40 SNA

Lost Valley Prairie SNA

Lutsen SNA

Maplewood State Park

Margherita Preserve-Audubon Prairie

McCarthy Beach State Park

McKnight Prairie

Mille Lacs Kathio State Park

Mille Lacs Moraine SNA

Mille Lacs WMA

Miller Prairie, East Unit

Minneopa State Park

Minnesota Valley NWR, Black Dog Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Chaska Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Long Meadow Lake Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Louisville Swamp Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Rapids Lake Unit

Minnesota Valley NWR, Wilkie Unit

Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area, Lawrence Unit

Mississippi River County Park

Moose Lake State Park

Morton Outcrops SNA

Mound Prairie SNA

Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve

Myhr Creek Ridge SNA

Myre-Big Island State Park

Neal WMA

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Hoffman Unit

Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR, Rengstorf Unit

Old Mill State Park

Ordway Prairie

Oronoco Prairie SNA

Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo

P.N. and G.M. Nelson Wildlife Sanctuary

Pankratz Memorial Prairie, North Unit

Paul Bunyan Savanna

Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Crookston Prairie Unit

Pembina Trail Preserve SNA, Pembina Trail Unit

Phelps Lake WMA

Pilot Knob

Pin Oak Prairie SNA

Pine Bend Bluffs SNA

Potato Lake SNA

Prairie Creek WMA, Koester Prairie Unit

Prairie Creek Woods SNA

Prairie Smoke Dunes SNA

Quarry Park SNA

Racine Prairie SNA

Regal Meadow

Rice Lake Savanna SNA

Rice Lake State Park

Richard M. & Mathilde Rice Elliott SNA

Ripley Esker SNA

Ritter Farm Park

River Terrace Prairie SNA

River Warren Outcrops SNA

Robert Ney Memorial Park Reserve

Rock Ridge Prairie SNA

Rockville County Park

Roscoe Prairie SNA

Rushford Sand Barrens SNA

St. Croix Savanna SNA

St. Croix State Park

Sakatah Lake State Park

Sand Prairie Wildlife Management and Environmental Education Area

Sandpiper Prairie SNA

Santee Prairie SNA

Savage Fen SNA

Savanna Portage State Park

Sax-Zim Bog

Scenic State Park

Schaefer Prairie

Sedan Brook Prairie SNA

Seminary Fen SNA

Seven Mile Creek County Park

Seven Sisters Prairie

Seven Springs WMA

Sheepberry Fen

Shooting Star Prairie SNA

Sibley State Park

Split Rock Creek State Park

Spring Beauty Northern Hardwoods SNA

Spring Creek Prairie SNA

Spring Lake Regional Park

Spring Prairie Preserve

Springbrook Nature Center

Staffanson Prairie

Strandness Prairie

Sunfish Lake Park

Swedes Forest SNA

Tamarack Nature Center

Thompson County Park

Thorson Prairie WMA

Tiedemann WMA

Tribute WMA

Twin Valley Prairie Addition

Twin Valley Prairie SNA

Twin Valley WMA: North Unit

Two Rivers Aspen Prairie Parkland SNA

Tympanuchus Prairie

Uncas Dunes SNA

Upper Sioux Agency State Park

Valley View Park

Verlyn Marth Memorial Prairie SNA

Vermillion Highlands Research Recreation and WMA

Vermillion River WMA

Whitewater State Park

Whitney Island SNA

Whitetail Woods Regional Park

Wild Indigo SNA

Wild River State Park

William O’Brien State Park

Woodbury WMA

Woodland Trails Park

Zimmerman Prairie

Zumbro Falls Woods SNA

 

 

 

Binoculars


Last Updated:

About Us | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | © MinnesotaSeasons.com.com. All rights reserved.