Bigtooth aspen
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Populus grandidentata Michx.
Common name(s): bigtooth aspen, big-toothed aspen, large-tooth aspen, large-tooth popple
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- young leaves
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- leaves have big rounded teeth
Description:
-Salicaceae family
-deciduous hardwood
-dioecious
-leaves are heavily toothed
-the stem petiole is flattened
-mature trees can reach up to 24 m in height and 25cm in DBH
– may be confused with and hybridizes with P. tremuloides, which also occurs in wild blueberry fields; see left sidebar and Flora Novae Angliae information on Go Botany webpage
Reproduction:
-seeds
-sucker shoots
Habitat:
-sandy/loamy soils
-moist fertile soils
-aspen forests
-shade intolerant
Management:
-reacts well to thinning
-clear cutting is the best harvesting method
-fire can easily kill this species
-deer heavily browse young trees
-damaging agents
- Hypoxylon canker
- forest tent caterpillar
- poplar borer
Natural History:
-native to northeastern United States and southeastern Canada
Source(s):
Haines, A., Farnsworth, E., Morrison, G., & New England Wild Flower Society. (2011). New England Wildflower Society’s Flora Novae Angliae: A manual for the identification of native and naturalized higher vascular plants of New England. Framingham, MA: New England Wild Flower Society. p. 832.
USDA. “Bigtooth Aspen.” Populus Grandidentata Michx, U.S. Forest Service , www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/populus/grandidentata.htm.