E20160713-0003Populus tremuloides

Description:

Populus tremuloidesquaking aspen. The U. S. Forest Service believes that quaking aspen has the widest range of any North American tree, extending from Newfoundland to the tree line in Alaska and south to Virginia and Arizona. "It propagates itself primarily through root sprouts, and extensive clonal colonies are common. Each colony is its own clone, and all trees in the clone have identical characteristics and share a single root structure. A clone may turn color earlier or later in the fall than its neighbouring aspen clones," Wikipedia "Populus tremuloides". Aspens quake because the petiole is flat and attached to the flat leaf at a 90 degree angle. the configuration causes the leaves to flutter in the wind. It is a characteristic shared with other Populus species.