Winter aspens
by Inge Riis McDonald
Title
Winter aspens
Artist
Inge Riis McDonald
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Vancouver Island aspen trees amongst the winter grasses.
The Trembling Aspen tree is a beautiful tree that grows to 25 m tall, it has leaves that quiver in the slightest breeze and they almost sound like they are whispering. The leaves turn a golden color in the fall.
The flowers are produced in male and female catkins on separate trees. Male catkins are 2 to 3 cm long, and the female catkins are 4 to 10 cm long. The seeds are tiny capsules covered with cottony down. The bark is smooth, white with black splashes and doesn't peel.
It is found throughout the province east of the Coast Ranges, with a few scattered trees around the Strait of Georgia and a very tiny strip on the southeast corner of Vancouver Island with a few as far north as Campbell River, but most are located closer to the southern tip of the Island. Aspen is very common in the northeastern part of the province.
Trembling aspen grows best on wet but well drained soils. Aspen can put out plant clones from sucker roots to form large colonies. Aspen colonies can often be distinguished in spring or fall when groups of stems change color all at once. These colonies can be large and some are estimated to be over 5,000 years old.
Uploaded
June 12th, 2013
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