Reiman’s Pick
For the week of July 27, 2009
Quaking Aspen
Jacqueline Kolpek, Outdoor Horticulture Intern
Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University
Dating back to the Ice Age, the Quaking Aspen Populus tremuloides, spread from Canada throughout the United States and became a beautiful addition to the landscape. The rustling of its leaves in the wind creates a unique, soft sound and its namesake quality. Native Americans referred to this aspen as “woman’s tongue”. The women would recreate this sound at many important events such as ceremonies, weddings, funerals and tribe gatherings.
Today, Quaking Aspens are one of the most widely dispersed trees across the nation; however, many people are unfamiliar to their unique characteristics. The existence of Quaking Aspen in the Western United States creates a beautiful landscape within the mountains of Colorado and Utah. The Aspen is an upright, deciduous tree that stands at an average of 40-100 feet tall with a spectacular smooth white trunk of one to two feet in diameter. The leaves are eye-catching as a slightly heart-shaped, almost perfectly rounded leaf one to three inches long. These flat leaves have a dark green color above and a pale green color underneath which change from yellow-orange, gold, to red during the fall. Quaking Aspens tolerate many different living conditions from full sun to cold temperatures; soils rich in clay to moist loams. A unique characteristic of the Quaking Aspen is their tolerance to fire. It has adapted by having little heat resistance in its thin bark, but with a root system that rapidly creates numerous sprouts after fires to produce new trees.
The wood of the Quaking Aspen can be used in many different ways. Because of its fine, uniformed texture, the wood is able to withstand applications of glue and paint. Its high resistance to splitting makes it very useful as pulp products such as particleboard, chipboard, insulation board and specialty papers for newsprint and books. Over the years, there are many commercial uses that have put quaking Aspen in higher demand such as animal bedding, matchsticks, toys, tongue depressors and ice cream sticks.
Now is the perfect time to admire the Quaking Aspen. Come experience the beauty and unique flutter of leaves on Quaking Aspens found throughout Reiman Gardens.
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