Click on the images help you identify a big-toothed aspen.
Form
Grows 60 to 80 feet tall, with a trunk diameter of 10 to 20 inches. Slender, rather rigid branches create a narrow, round-topped crown.
Bark
Smooth and gray or yellowish green. On older trees, bark at the base becomes furrowed and dark brown.
Leaf
Leaves are simple and alternate on the stem, 2 to 4 inches long, with coarse teeth along the margins. The upper surface is dark green, turning yellow in autumn. Leaves appear one to two weeks later than those of quaking aspen and are silvery white at first. Buds are light gray, downy, and larger than those of quaking aspen.
Fruit (seed)
Fruit consists of small, cotton-like capsules grouped in 3- to 6-inch catkins. Seeds are easily carried long distances by the wind. Fruit matures in late spring.
Range
Found on moist, sandy, or rich soils. Common throughout Minnesota except in the southwestern and northeastern parts of the state. Shade-intolerant and very fast-growing.
Wood uses
The wood is straight-grained, fine- and uniformly textured, light, weak, and soft, and it shrinks on drying. It is used as a primary raw material for pulp and paper and oriented strand board. It is also used in the production of lumber, matchsticks, lath, and shavings. Residue generated from these products is used to produce densified wood fuels, such as pellets, or is burned directly as green fuel.