Quaking aspen – description, flowering period and general distribution in Pennsylvania. rounded young leaves

Quaking aspen – description, flowering period and general distribution in Pennsylvania. long catkins hanging from a branch

Quaking aspen – description, flowering period and general distribution in Pennsylvania. big tree crown

Quaking aspen – description, flowering period and general distribution in Pennsylvania. Aspen-shaped poplar - the most widespread tree in North America

Quaking aspen – description, flowering period and general distribution in Pennsylvania. autumn grove

Common name:

Quaking aspen

Scientific name:

Populus tremuloides.

Other common name(s):

Quaking aspen, Trembling aspen, Aspen, American aspen, Mountain aspen, Golden aspen, Trembling poplar, White poplar, Popple, Alamo Blanco.

Life form:

Tree.

Flowering time:

no data.

Flowering period

in Pennsylvania for this plant is: April ↔ May.

NECTAR PRODUCTION:

Minor

SOURCE FOR HONEY BEES:

Minor

General distribution:

Quaking aspen is native to and the most widely distributed tree in North America. It occurs from Newfoundland west to Alaska and south to Virginia, Missouri, Nebraska, and northern Mexico. A few scattered populations occur farther south in Mexico to Guanajuato. Quaking aspen is distributed fairly continuously in the East. Distribution is patchy in the West, with trees confined to suitable sites. Density is greatest in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, and Alaska; each of those states contains at least 2 million acres of commercial quaking aspen forest. Maine, Utah, and central Canada also have large acreages of quaking aspen.

Map of distribution and habitat in USA

This plant is present in at least 53 states/provinces in this country.

See The Map

Botanical description:

Quaking aspen is a native deciduous tree. It is small- to medium-sized, typically less than 48 feet (15 m) in height and 16 inches (40 cm) dbh. It has spreading branches and a pyramidal or rounded crown. The bark is thin. Leaves are orb- to ovately shaped, with flattened petioles. The fruit is a tufted capsule bearing six to eight seeds. A single female catkin usually bears 70 to 100 capsules. The root system is relatively shallow, with wide-spreading lateral roots and vertical sinker roots descending from the laterals. Laterals may extend over 100 feet (30 m) into open areas.

Quaking aspen forms clones connected by a common parent root system. It is typically dioecious, with a given clone being either male or female. Some clones produce both stamens and pistils, however.

Seasonal development:

Quaking aspen catkins elongate before the leaves expand.

In New England, catkins appear in mid-March to April; in the central Rockies, flowering occurs in May to June. Sustained air temperatures above 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 deg C) for about 6 days apparently trigger flowering. At high elevation, trees may flower before snow is off the ground.

Female trees generally flower and leaf out before male trees.

Local clonal variation produces early- and late-flowering clones of either sex, however.

Catkins mature in 4 to 6 weeks (usually in May or June).

Branches usually leaf out from early May to June.

Seed dispersal in the Great Lakes States occurs from early May to mid-June, beginning earliest on protected sites and in southern portions of the region.

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List of honey plants that may be blooming now in Pennsylvania

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