Populus tremuloides

Quaking aspen

Family: Salicaceae · Type: tree · Native

Quaking aspen is a California native tree found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, and Great Basin in streamsides, moist openings, and slopes within montane and subalpine forests at elevations of 900 to 3,150 meters. Flowering from April to June, this tree produces small catkins in delicate clusters. Growing up to 15 meters tall with a slender crown, it has distinctive green-white twigs and shiny winter buds. Its leaves have rounded to heart-shaped blades 2 to 4 centimeters long, with a green upper surface and glaucous undersurface, and finely toothed margins. Notably clonal, this tree spreads through extensive root systems, forming large interconnected groves across its mountain habitats.

Habitat: Streamsides, moist openings, slopes in montane, subalpine forest, woodland, sagebrush steppe

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 900-3150 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, CaR, SNH, SnBr, GB

California counties: Mono, Trinity, Siskiyou, Fresno, El Dorado, Nevada, San Bernardino, Tuolumne, Modoc, Tulare, Inyo, Mariposa, San Diego, Plumas, Placer, Amador, Madera, Sierra, Los Angeles, Alpine, Lake, Shasta, Butte, Tehama, Mendocino, Calaveras, Lassen, Monterey, Alameda

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.