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To strengthen our connected roots, and thus our Eternal Family Bonds.

The Quaking Aspen Tree

     The Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) is a medium sized deciduous tree of the willow family, reaching 50-80 feet tall.  Mature aspens are distinguished by their nearly round leaves, 1-4 inches diameter with irregular rounded teeth.  They are carried on strongly flattened leaf stems, which enable the leaves to twist and flutter in the slightest of breezes.  The juvenile leaves on young seedlings and root sprouts differ markedly from the adult leaves and are nearly triangular.

    All aspens typically grow in large colonies derived from a single seedling, and spreading by means of root suckers.  New stems in the colony may appear at up to 130 feet from the parent tree. Each tree only lives for 40-150 years above ground, but the root system of the colony is long-lived, in some cases for many thousands of years, sending up new trunks as the older trunks die off above ground. One such colony in Utah, given the nickname of "Pando", is claimed to be 80,000 years old, making it possibly the oldest living organism.  Some aspen colonies become very large with time, spreading about a yard per year, eventually covering many square miles.

     They are able to survive intense forest fires as the roots are below the heat of the fire, with new sprouts growing after the fire is out. However, aspens do not thrive in the shade, and it is difficult for aspen seedlings to grow in an already mature aspen stand.  Fire indirectly benefits aspen trees, as it allows the saplings to flourish in open sunlight on account of the burned landscape.  Lately aspen has increased its popularity in forestry, mostly because of its fast growth rate and ability to regenerate from sprouts, which makes the regeneration of the forest after harvesting much cheaper, as no planting or sowing is required.

    The aspen tree's quivering leaves are, in Christian lore, said to be the result of arrogance at the Crucifixion because the aspen did not tremble like other trees.  Emigrant Basque shepherds in the 19th and 20th century carved texts and figures on aspens of the American Southwest to express their loneliness. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspen)