Index    Handbook of the Trees of New England by Lorin Low Dame, Henry Brooks

Populus grandidentata, Michx. Poplar. Large-toothed Aspen.

Habitat and Range.—In rich or poor soils; woods, hillsides, borders of streams.

New England,—common, occasional at altitudes of 2000 feet or more.

Habit.—A tree 30-45 feet in height and 1 foot to 20 inches in diameter at the ground, sometimes attaining much greater dimensions; trunk erect, with an open, unsymmetrical, straggling head; branches distant, small and crooked; branchlets round; spray sparse, consisting of short, stout, leafy shoots; in time and manner of blossoming, constant motion of foliage, and general habit, closely resembling P. tremuloides.

Bark.—Bark of trunk on old trees dark grayish-brown or blackish, irregularly furrowed, broad-ridged, the outer portions separated into small, thickish scales; trunk of young trees soft greenish-gray; branches greenish-gray, darker on the underside; branchlets dark greenish-gray, roughened with leaf-scars; season's twigs in fall dark reddish-brown, at first tomentose, becoming smooth and shining.

Winter Buds and Leaves.—Buds ⅛ inch long, mostly divergent, light chestnut, more or less pubescent, dusty-looking, ovate, acute. Leaves 3-5 inches long, two-thirds as wide, densely white-tomentose when opening, usually smooth on both sides when mature, dark green above, lighter beneath, bright yellow in autumn; outline roundish-ovate, coarsely and irregularly sinuate-toothed; teeth acutish; sinuses in shallow curves; apex acute; base truncate or slightly heart-shaped; leafstalks long, strongly flattened at right angles to the plane of the blade; stipules thread-like, soon falling.

Inflorescence.—March to April. Sterile catkins 1-3 inches long, fertile at first about the same length, but gradually elongating; bracts cut into several lanceolate divisions, silky-hairy; stamens about 10; anthers red: ovaries short-stalked; stigmas two, 2-lobed, red.

Fruit.—Fruiting catkins at length 3-6 inches long; capsule conical, acute, roughish-scurfy, hairy at tip: seeds numerous, hairy.

Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; grows almost anywhere, but prefers moist, rich loam; grows rapidly and is safely transplanted, but is unsymmetrical, easily broken by the wind, and short-lived; seldom offered by nurserymen, but readily procured from northern collectors of native plants. Useful to grow for temporary effect with permanent trees, as it will fail by the time the desirable kinds are well established. Propagated from seed or cuttings.

Note.—Points of difference between P. tremuloides and P. grandidentata. These trees may be best distinguished in early spring by the color of the unfolding leaves. In the sunlight the head of P. tremuloides appears yellowish-green, while that of P. grandidentata is conspicuously cotton white. The leaves of P. grandidentata are larger and more coarsely toothed, and the main branches go off usually at a broader angle. The buds of P. grandidentata are mostly divergent, dusty-looking, dull; of P. tremuloides, mostly appressed, highly polished with a resinous lustre.

Plate XV.—Populus grandidentata.