#Populus tremuloides

[colorsoutofearth]

Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Photos by Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott

[aisling-saoirse]

Quaking Aspen - Populus tremuloides

Today I want to bring up a charismatic favorite: the Quaking Aspen. Like all populus species, it's a fast growing, clonal colony forming, northern extreme and mountain loving tree (just like its Eurasian sister species: A. tremula) with an incredibly wide range of distribution. In addition to all those interesting qualities, the oldest known organism is presumed to be a Quaking Aspen colony (Pando, in Utah)

General identification before I can talk about the more interesting bits, Aspens are best known for their yellow autumn leaves and smooth white bark with dark knots, they can grow as large as 60' but depending on their environment can be stunted to around 5-20' (think of krummholz). Leaves of this species appear slightly heart shaped and retain the same sheen on both sides (image 1). Plants are unisexual meaning individuals either have male or female flowers, interestingly enough this is a good method to distinguish where one colony begins and ends by looking at the color of the branches in spring (see image from Colorado below, note trees with light green and those without). Emerging catkins are white at first which become green and longer as the season changes, male catkins having slightly longer stamen but female fruiting catkins ultimately growing longest at 10 cm. Seeds are small capsules with silky hairs to assist in wind dispersion, these trees are ruderal so they produce around 1.6 Million a season with many unable to germinate. Seedlings often need consistent moisture and full sun to even germinate, most of the seeds growth goes to root structure the first year.

The name Quaking Aspen (or trembling per the Latin) refers to the extremely mobile habit of the leaf. Leaves are connected to flexible petioles (stems) which flip around in the slightest breeze. Environmentally speaking, I was once told that leaves have chlorophyll on both sides however this stem could also be a biological strategy to cope with harsh wind conditions in mountainous environments, I didn't encounter any recent research verifying this though. Interestingly enough, given the harsh nature of which this tree thrives, apparently, there is chlorophyll in its trunk, allowing extra energy to enter the tree when it's leaves are gone.

Quaking Aspen is an early succession species, able to reestablish/colonize a site after a fire or other major disturbance. Many of Upstate New York's famous Aspen forests are actually a result of logging and fires in the early 1900s rather than a typical forest compostion. Establishment is different depending on opportunity, in the west its often long lived clonal roots systems, in the high arctic its often through wind blown seed, in the east its generally short lived clones out-competed by hardwood/conifer forest after a century, and in its furthest southeastern range I typically only encounter individuals on rocky outcrops or former fields.

Above ground trees usually live less than a century, in the east maybe 50-80 years given our moisture, out west individual trunks can live two centuries. It's common to find dense forests with even-age trees since clonal root structures re-emerge together (Image above from Bluebell Knoll Mountain in Utah). Its also thought that the root system can live for two millenia or longer, Pando being an example of extreme longevity (I mean 40,000 years would survive an ice age, even in Utah there would be mountain glaciation, thats quite spectacular if true). Ironically, one of the best survival tools in the Aspen's playback is fire recovery, otherwise it will get out-competed/shaded pretty fast (see the context in image 2, that NJ forest used to have lots of aspen).

All this in mind its good to point out that Aspen's early successional habit makes it great for ecological restoration. It's common to find them as the first pioneers on former mines or superfund sites (aspen grove below from Palmerton gap, Pennsylvania). Unfortunately one of the negative side affects is that populus species often bring up a lot of heavy metals in their leaves and wood meaning they can re-contaminate through their own biological accumulation. Which is good for extracting small scale contaiminants...very bad for large sites where you need to trap metal under soil to prevent toxins from eroding offsite

All this being said Quaking Aspen's large geographic range mirrors that of the last glacial maximum, implying a rapid spread onto retreating glaciers. This also suggests a growth habit requiring wet or moist soil conditions. This range is North West to Alaska nearly touching the Arctic Ocean at its Northern-most range in the Yukon, then east to Newfoundland; south west to Mexico (usually restricted to high mountains) and east from Iowa to New Jersey (with scattered populations in West Virginia).

Since Aspen often colonizes sites of former glaciation, with climate change it's predicted there will be a northward and uphill progression of populations. Aspen isn't really in intense danger of dissappearing but studies have shown major stressors (draught, extreme heat, over-grazing) cause higher mass-mortality events from minor stressors (typically disease and insect herbivorey). Given the fact that many forests are clonal there was a question of low genetic diversity amoung populations, yet interestingly, individuals undergo somatic mutations (DNA alterations after conception) and are extremely variable, so different individuals often place different energies into different defense tactics.

In addition to all of this information Aspens are primarily used today to make paper pulp. Historically settlers used aspen to derive quinine (think gin and tonic), and indigenous tribes have a history of using big trunks to create dug out canoes.

So please go out to your nearest mountain/boreal forest to enjoy the Quaking Aspen's lovely smooth bark and haunting shaking in the wind!

[negreabsolut]

Un bosc de pollancres trèmols americans (Populus tremuloides). [font]

[finalfantastyfourteenforest]

Do not despair! You are not without allies.

[containszombie]

Not sure about age. but still breathtaking

Meet Pando, not a forest but a single tree. Every trunk of the Quaking Aspen is genetically identical & connected by a single 80,000 year old root system, making it one of the largest and oldest living entities on Earth!

[thorsenmark]

To Walk Amongst the Aspens on a Springtime Day by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along the Alpine Loop Scenic Backway in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The view is looking to the south-southeast at a nearby aspen forest. My thought on composing this image was to zoom in with the focal length and have that forest fill the image from edge to edge.

[danniesclit]

I’m going to reintroduce myself to the phandom via the Time Machine meetup hosted by @energeticwarrior !

My name is Clare (they/them). The first picture is me in 2012, back when I started watching Dan’s videos (I figured the picture with the llama was fitting). I found Phil shortly after and have watched them both ever since, but got in real deep between 2016 and 2018. I was pretty active then and had a tumblr blog that I can’t for the life of me remember the name of—followed a lot of familiar faces showing up today back then! And then there’s the me of today, hanging with my friend’s chihuahua and living my best queer life.

It’s actually unhinged that these two British dudes have been with me for over ten years. Freaks me out if I think about it for too long. But from the years when I was a depressed, closeted teen finding solace in Dan’s videos, to the phandom friends and support I found in 2016 when I finally came out, to this new renaissance where we’re all just old and gay and having fun, I’m so grateful for them and this community. Their content and the community that’s built around them has done so much to help me find myself and feel accepted along the way. It’s been fun seeing people pop back up on old blogs and new people discovering them for the first time.

I’m loving seeing all of the other people in this tag and reading about all our journeys! I’m proud of us all! 🏳️‍🌈

[vandaliatraveler]

Debby swept through the area on Friday. Yesterday, all that remained of the storm was a strong, steady breeze. Few things will connect you to nature more quickly than the wind riffling through aspen leaves. The quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Canaan Valley is part of a disjunct population located well south of its normal northerly range. The high elevation of the valley allows species normally found much farther north to thrive here. Along the Middle Ridge Trail in the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

[pnwnativeplants]

Not big bee plants but Scouler’s willow is a host plant for over 350 various species of butterflies and moths. It’s also one of the only willows in western Wa (where I live) that can tolerate pretty dry conditions which is useful for urban and suburban gardeners who dont live near wetlands. red alder and aspens are also power houses as host plants for lepidoptera.

I am becoming obsessed with the flowers of wind-pollinated broadleaf PNW native trees.

I have four so far with a few more to capture.

1 - beaked filbert

2 - Scouler willow

3 - red alder

4 - aspen

Interestingly, aspen is not capitalized because the city is named after the tree not the other way around. Exactly the same reason ponderosa is not capitalized because the ranch was named after the tree not the tree after the ranch and because the ranch was fictitious and oh so many other reasons.

Lichen on!

[my-mare-tenebrarum]

В национальном лесу Фишлейк, штат Юта, есть роща осинообразных тополей (Populus tremuloides), которая занимает 43 гектара и содержит около 47000 на первый взгляд отдельных деревьев. Только они не совсем индивидуальны. Каждое из них произошло от побега, возникшего на корнях давно умершего оригинального дерева, и по мере того как каждый новый росток распространял свои собственные корни, на них появлялись новые ростки. Генетически идентичные, они все составляют одно дерево, и их корни связаны под землей. В мире оно известно как дерево Пандо, что по-латыни означает «я распространяюсь». Отдельные побеги живут примерно 150 лет, но некоторым корням около 80000 лет, хотя, вне всякого сомнения, прародитель намного старше.

(с) Майкл Аллаби. “Скандальная правда о сексуальной жизни растений”.

[colorsoutofearth]

Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) trees in autumn, Utah

Photo by Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott

[montaguethelorekeeper]

Pandofication

Below is a diagram detailing the four primary stages of a transformation referred to as Pandofication.

Very little quantitative data is currently available. The qualitative data suggests that Pandofication can remain dormant in a host body for an extended period of time before entering the metamorphosis stage. It is unknown how Pando spreads into its host bodies.

After close proximity to excessive heat and smoke, the host body begins an involuntary metamorphosis into the final stage of the Pando life cycle.

The following are the four primary stages of Pandofication.

Fig. 1-A.

Host begins to show visible changes. (Pandofication likely has progressed internally before this stage.) Outer extremities begin to whiten and take on a rough bark-like texture. As the Pandofication progresses, this whitening spreads inwards.

Cognition unaffected.

Fig. 1-B.

Blackened creases and other markings typical of Populus Tremuloides (Quaking Aspen) form across whitened areas. Host remains proportionally unaffected and anatomically correct.

Fig. 2

Host begins growth stage. Outer extremities are affected first, losing dexterity while rapidly becoming more root-like in structure.

Cognition impaired. Host becomes confused and disorientated. In humans, the host remains capable of (imperfect) speech, and basic reasoning. Host becomes highly avoidant of others of their kind.

At this stage the host can recognise and can choose to interact with familiar parties. Willing, non-avoidant interaction with unfamiliar parties is highly unlikely at this stage.

Host seeks an isolated location of a forest recently affected by wildfire where water and sunlight are in abundance.

Fig. 3

Host doubles to triples in height, significant growth in overall mass. Branches and foliage are now prominently growing across the host body. External soft tissue not altered by the Pandofication process decays and is discarded.

Cognition severely impaired.

Host no longer displays avoidant behaviors, instead becoming hostile when approached. Host no longer capable of communication or recognition. Exhibits “hunting” behavior, killing and gathering local fauna into a single area.

Fig. 4

Host becomes immobilized. Rooting into the earth around the collected kills, most likely acting as a form of fertilizer. The end result of the Pandofication process is a conjoined Quaking Aspen tree consisting of four trunks, previously limbs.

The Host selects an ideal location for Aspen tree growth and establishes itself firmly, becoming the center of a future Pando forest.

[negreabsolut]

[felis-artis]

afterlive ecology. ramble freely my psionic warrior

OKAYOKAYOKAY!!!! LETS GET THE BASICS DOWN FIRST!!!!:

It's mostly based on Ivypool's Heart's whole afterlife idea with the river. Sort-of. The afterlives each have their own biome is my thing, and instead of a river between them, it's lakes and rivers. The only ocean in the whole Soulplanes separates the Big cats from the Domestic and Small cats. It's called the Starjellied-Waters and isn't important at the moment.

Now, I'll only be doing the Vigilcat's afterlives here, with other stuff coming later. I can only do so much at a time, so here we go. The Vigil of the Stars, The Plumesmoke Trails, and The Place of No Stars.

VIGIL OF THE STARS

COMMON TREES: Eastern cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) and basswood trees (Tilia americana) are the most common, but silver maples (Acer saccharinum) and bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa) are plentiful enough. Black cherry trees (Prunus serotina) are speckles across the territory. Huge patches of wild plum (Prunus americana) and juneberries (Amelanchier arborea) cover the land.

UNCOMMON TREES: Quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides), blackjack oaks (Quercus marilandica), wild crabapples (Malus ioensis), and flameleaf (shining) sumacs (Rhus copallina) cover the territories in small chunks. Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) also dot the land.

It should be noted that some of these trees produce fruit. All of these, in the afterlife, do not do anything to the cats. However, alive cats are effected by the fruit. Do not eat.

COMMON (FICTIONAL) PLANTS: Starivy, a thick-stemmed flowering vine that crawls up rocks and stems from small bodies of water that reflect the stars. Nightvines, thin-stemmed vines that sprout moss where they go, used often for nesting materials.

Overall, this is a very small list. I'm unsure of what to do to add more, so I'll probably add more later. :)

PLUMESMOKE TRAILS

There are no trees. It is a rocky moorland, with heavy winds. Only shrubbery grows between those stone crevices.

The only shrub in the area is Rabbitbrush, parry (Chrysothamnus parryi)

PLACE OF NO STARS

COMMON TREES: Mostly Red oaks (Quercus rubra), Peachleaf willows (Salix amygdaloides), and the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus) are found around the area, but with how their leaves are layered, the sky is hard to see.

UNCOMMON TREES: Prairie (Climbing) Rose (Rosa setigera), Coyote willow (Salix exigua), Western sandcherry (Prunus besseyi), and Redosier dogwood (Cornus sericea) are usually found in small clumps.

SHRUBS AND BUSHES: Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), Saskatoon serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), and the four-wing saltbrush (Atriplex canescens) are common, with Black oaks (Quercus velutina) appearing sometimes.

COMMON (FICTIONAL) PLANTS: Starless Ivy, a very flammable red-orange ivy vine that curls around places without warmth in an attempt to give it some. Sunsky berries, huge blue fruits that seem to soak the color from an area. Tastes great, but causes spatial distortions if cooked overripe.

oops, all plants! enjoy :)

[camisoledadparis]

The Pando aspen clone is "the largest known quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) clone founded by a single seedling and thought to be one of the oldest studied organisms."

Analyses of its DNA could help in knowing "how ancient organisms protect their genomes from harmful mutations."

[pickerelstripe]

[CM] Trees

Alright, breaking into some of the funner expansion packs (in my opinion) - flora and fauna! These are the culmination of several weeks’ worth of looking into Maine ecology and making species lists for ClayClan’s territory. I can’t promise they’re 100% accurate (there’s always exceptions), but I can say that they’re very plausible based off my reading! In this post I’ll be sharing tree information, plus a bonus verb.

Deciduous

White ash (Fraxinus americana) - Shash Shash grows in moist soil and is somewhat shade tolerant. Its acorns and leaf buds are eaten by birds, deer, and rodents. This is a good tree for cats who enjoy climbing, as it grows notably strong branches.

American mountain ash (Sorbus americana) - Fefewlepe Derived from base Clanmew fewl* (to fall), hafefyl* (bird), and lepe* (berry). The fermented fruit of this tree may intoxicate birds in winter! It grows in a variety of soils and is shade tolerant. Fefewepe is an important plant to ClayClan because it's a valued food source for many small birds and mammals.

Bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata) - Roqruss Derived from base Clanmew roq* (tooth) and russ* (leaf). Roqruss grows in a variety of soils but is less adaptable than ufuf, quaking aspen; it prefers full sunlight. It has distinctly toothed leaves. Many birds feed on the seeds and buds of roqruss, while its inner bark is eaten by beavers.

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) - Ufuf Derived from the sound of leaves shaking in the wind. Ufuf grows in moist soil and is shade tolerant. Its leaves tremble in even light breezes. Deer, hares, beavers, and various bird species all feed off this tree.

American beech (Fagus grandifolia) - Nekbossa  Derived from base Clanmew nekboq* (nut) and kossa* (tree). Nekbossa grows in moist, well-drained soil and prefers full sunlight. It produces beechnuts that are  an important food source for chipmunks and squirrels.

Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) - Ooshka Derived from the words shoosh and kossa* (tree). Ooshka grows in moist soil and is somewhat shade tolerant. Ooshka bark peels once the tree is mature - this bark can be used for weaving! It also has a lot of wildlife value; moose, deer, hares, beavers, and numerous birds feed off the tree’s leaves, bark, and seeds. 

Red maple (Acer rubrum) - Reyruss Derived from base Clanmew rey* (red) and russ* (leaf). Reyruss is named for its brilliant fall colors, but it has something red in all seasons - buds in winter, flowers in spring, and leafstalks in summer. It grows in moist soil and prefers full sunlight. Squirrels, deer, and rabbits eat the samaras and leaves.

Striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) - Kossip Derived from base Clanmew sip* (thin stripe) and kossa* (tree). Kossip grows in dry, well-drained soil and is shade tolerant. Its bark is marked with long, thin stripes, hence its name. Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and deer feed off this tree; moose may eat its bark in the winter.

Hawthorn (Crataegus) - Wobenak Derived from base Clanmew wobe* (apple) and nak* (thorn) - this is a reference to one of hawthorn’s other common names, thorn-apple. Wobenak grows in well-drained soil and prefers full sunlight. It produces small red berries that feed various birds and mammals throughout the winter.

Larch (Larix laricina) - Rreenyyp Derived from base Clanmew rreen* (golden) and nyyp* (pine needle). Rreenyyp is unique in that it resembles a pine tree but loses its needles seasonally! It grows in moist soil and prefers full sunlight. Squirrels eat its seeds.

Species with the same name as base Clanmew: Red oak (Quercus rubra)- Byoch* Gray willow (Salix bebbiana) - Sawa* Pussywillow (Salix discolor) - Pfufoh*

Coniferous

Pitch pine (Pinus rigida) - Shkikee Shkikee grows in a variety of soils and is somewhat shade tolerant. It produces thick, sticky resin. Small mammals and birds eat its seeds, while deer may feed on young sprouts.

Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) - Kik Kik grows in moist soil and is shade tolerant. This tree produces the largest cones out of any on ClayClan territory! Its seeds are eaten by black bears, rabbits, squirrels, and birds, while beavers, hares, and mice eat its bark.

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) - Piksh Piksh grows in moist, well-drained soil and is shade tolerant. It develops resinous blisters on its bark and has a distinct spicy smell. Birds, squirrels, and mice eat its seeds, while black bears eat its bark.

Black spruce (Picea mariana) - Krrifuh Derived from base Clanmew krriki* (cone) and palifuh* (purple). Krrifuh grows in moist soil and is shade tolerant. It produces tiny, dark purple cones. Birds, squirrels, mice, and chipmunks eat its seeds, while hares eat its saplings; moose and deer might feed off krrifuh when other food is scarce.

Species with the same name as base Clanmew: Northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis) - Shawogi*

Bonus Verb

To peel - Shooshk, shoosh, shoos Derived from the sound of peeling wood. This word is used most often for peeling bark off trees or for skinning an animal. Like most verbs, this could be part of a warrior name - Barkpeeler, anyone?