Quaking aspen – way more than meets the eye.
Fall colors are already creeping in around the edges, but today this single, sturdy shoot standing upright along the path caught my attention. Its kale-green, heart-shaped leaves bobbing gently back and forth provided a clue about its identity.
Quaking aspens (populus tremuloides) are the most widely distributed trees in North America – and they have several characteristics that make them resilient, prodigious, and remarkably long lived.
Above ground, the leaves have an unusual ability to twist and bend, distributing stress more evenly to protect the trees from severe winds. Quaking aids in the tree’s growth because the fluttery movements increase the intake of air by the leaves. Also, constantly moving leaves increases the ability for sunlight to shine on the lower leaves which improves the rate of photosynthesis.
But underground, it gets even more interesting. Aspens commonly reproduce asexually by sending up new stems from a single root system. This single branch is likely a clone of another nearby root system – as it grows it will appear to be a separate tree, but it will be genetically identical to the others in the same system. We’ll know who they are soon because all the all trees of the same clone will change into fall colors at exactly the same time.
"Go spend time with the aspen trees. They'll tell you how it works. They'll tell you to look to your roots for energy. They'll tell you there's warmth below the surface.”
Kaya McLaren
Individual quaking aspens usually live for about 50 to 60 years, however when one stem dies, it’s replace with new growth from below. The entire clone can live for tens of thousands of years!
According to the National Wildlife Association, a grove of quaking aspens in Utah is the largest known living organism on Earth. Nearly 50,000 stems protrude from a single root system and cover over 100 acres.
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