Largetooth aspen

Leaves

Form

• Varies from ovate with a short, sharp tip to broadly oval with a blunt tip
• Neoformed leaves on vigorous shoots heart-shaped, large
• Dense woolly hairs on lower surface

Length

• 5–10 cm

Colour

• Upper surface dark green
• Lower surface paler with white hairs when unfolding in spring

Margin

• 7–15 large uneven teeth per side
• Teeth smaller, more numerous on neoformed leaves

Petiole

• Flattened, shorter than the blade
• Less flattened, with dense white woolly hairs on neoformed leaves

Timing

• 7–10 days later than trembling aspen

Buds

Form

• Terminal bud ovoid, blunt
• Finely hairy, not gummy or fragrant
• Lateral leaf buds similar but more slender
• Flower buds stout

Length

• 7–8 mm

Colour

• Dull brown

Twigs

Form

• Moderately coarse
• Downy when the leaves are unfolding
• Some hairiness often remains
• Round in cross-section

Colour

• Dull brownish
• Lenticels orange

Flowers

Structure

• Dioecious

Fruits

Form

• Capsules narrowly conical, downy, closely spaced on flexible stalks
• Splitting into 2 parts when mature

Length

• Mature seed catkins 10–12 cm
• Capsules 6–7 mm

Timing

• Seeds ripen 4–6 weeks after flowering

Bark

Form

• Smooth, with age becoming furrowed
• Diamond-shaped marks about 1 cm across frequently occur

Colour

• Pale green to yellowish-grey, usually with an orange cast, becoming dark grey
• Darker than trembling aspen

Size

Height

• To 20 m

Diameter

• To 30 cm

Maximum age

• 60 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Long, cylindrical, smooth, with little taper
• Branch-free in the lower part

Crown

• Short, rounded

Root system

• Shallow, very wide-spreading

Habitat

Site

• Moist, fertile soils

Associated species

• Small pure stands, usually a single clone formed by root sprouts
• More often mixed with trembling aspen, white birch, eastern white pine, balsam fir, white spruce, willows and alders