Balsam Poplar
Genus of the Poplar, tree of the family Salicaceae (Poplar, Willow)
Etymology: named because of the resin which trickles down on stems and leaves in spring.
Origin: North of North America, imported into Europe from the XVIIth century.
Height: 30 m in America, 15 m in Europe.
Lifespan : short (80 years).
Deciduous foliage. Leaves lanceolate, long petiole (10 cm in everything), which turn to red in America (less distinctly in France).
Use : the Indians used the balsam tacamahaca against rheumatisms. |
Quaking Aspen, Trembling Aspen, and Quakies
Populus tremuloides
Etymology: its name comes from the "shaking" which agitates its foliage when the wind, or even a light breeze, blows, as with Aspen. « Trembling Aspen »
can be distinguished from the European aspen.
Origin: The Trembling Aspen is the tree the most spread in North America is. Its territory indeed stretches of the border of the boreal forest up to the north of Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Habitat: The Trembling Aspen can grow in various types of soils, slopes down to sandy and gravelly soils thin rocky terrain through heavy clay ground if they are wet. The Aspen is intolerant of shade.
hardiness: zone 1 (it supports cold until - 45 °C or - 49 °F).
Lifespan: short (60-80 years).
Growth: fast.
Maximum size: 20 m tall.
Shape:pyramidal, rounded as it mattures.
Right trunk. Its system root is superficial.
Bark: smooth and pale green in white in the young Trembling Aspen, darker and covered with ridges and grooves with diamond brands in the mature tree. Its wood is strong and its branches may be broken by high winds and heavy snow.
Deciduous foliage. Small simple leaves, alternate, finely toothed and round, of 3-5 cm long. The petiole, flat, is very flexible, allows the leaves to turn round in the wind, showing their pale green lower face. In autumn, the leaf turns to yellow.
Flowers : appearing in March or April, before the appearance of the foliage. They are in the form of catkins bending downward. The male flower is red and the female flower is greenish.
Fruits : capsules in the form of cones.
Use: The Trembling Aspen is a pioneer tree invading waste places such as abandoned fields, meadows and the edge of the woods. It provides shelter to the shoots of coniferous or deciduous slower growth. It is rarely grown, although it is easy to transplant from small seedlings or cuttings. Its interest is limited because of its short lifespan.
The bark of Trembling Aspen, once sprayed with added sugar, has long been known anthelmintic properties by Native Americans.
The wood of Trembling Aspen is light and tender. One makes pallets and pulp.
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