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The leaves are alternate,
round, and 2.5-6 cm long. They are hairless, dark green on the upper
surface and paler on the underside with a coarsely blunt-toothed margin.
They have strongly flattened stalks, as long as, or longer than the
leaves, which catch even the slightest breeze, causing a trembling movement
and a rustling sound.
ID
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Aspen is a deciduous
tree up to 20m in height. Sometimes it has a single silvery-barked
trunk strongly marked with black diamonds, but in exposed places or
on poor soils, it is often also a shrub with many suckers.
It grows in open woodland, generally on moist soils with little lime
content.
The leaves on
the suckers are larger, maybe 5-12
cm long. They are sharply pointed and slightly hairy.
The male and female
catkins are 5-8 cm long and appear
on separate trees (dioecious)
in February and March, before the leaves.
The brown male
catkins have reddish-purple anthers.
The green female catkins have pinkish
or purplish stigmas, divided into
two or more lobes.
Facts
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The leaves are
food for the caterpillars of the green hairstreak butterfly.
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The wood can
be used to make matches.
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When beavers
lived on Scottish rivers, aspen was one of their main food sources.
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