Bigtooth Aspen

LEAVES: Alternate, simple, 3″-4″ long, margins with coarse teeth, dull green above, lighter below, petiole flattened.

TWIGS: Stout, brown with a pale, wooly coating. Buds blunt-pointed, dull, often wooly.

FRUIT: Cone-shaped capsules on a drooping stalk similar to Quaking aspen. Fruits mature before the leaves are full grown, seeds covered with long silky hairs.

BARK: Light gray to green when young, dark brown and rough with age.

GENERAL: A small to medium sized tree, 30′-60′ high, common throughout the State. The seeds sprout best in open areas after cutting or fire and spread rapidly by sending up suckers from the roots. Bigtooth aspen is important for regenerating forest cover, protecting soil and slower growing species. Many animals browse the twigs and buds in winter and spring. The wood is used chiefly for making paper.