The New Student's Reference Work/Aspen

As'pen, also known as quaking asp and as white poplar, is a tree of much interest and beauty. It came originally from the cooler parts of Europe and Asia, and belongs to the genus Populus. In this country it is distributed generally north of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and grows on the mountains of the west, south to Mexico. It is a tall, slender tree, is said to reach in the forests to the height of 40 to 80 feet. The bark, save at the base, is light colored; the leaves, which are a glossy green above and yellowish green below, twinkle and tremble owing to the arrangement of the long flexible stem and the light leaf-blade. There is much delicate color in the aspen, in the bark, the catkins and the unfolding leaves. It is a prized ornamental tree, grows rapidly, but is short lived. The seeds are wafted a considerable distance by means of the long hairs with which they are surrounded. It is valuable on lands devastated by forest fires, being one of the first trees to spring up in clearings and protecting later growths. It is used in turning and in the manufacture of wood pulp, but is not valued for fuel. The large-toothed aspen is a stiffer, less attractive tree, though the weeping varieties of this are employed for ornamental purposes. Its distribution in this country is from Nova Scotia to Minnesota and south of Tennessee.