Quaking Aspen

Description:

Aspens can be identified by their smooth, white bark marked by black scars where lower branches are naturally self-pruned.

Habitat:

This stand of aspen was growing on top of a ridge, surrounded by pine forest.

Notes:

A stand of aspen is really only one huge organism where the main life force is underground. Aspen "clones," as the individual root systems are called, can live to be thousands of years old. The oldest known clone in existence is called "Pando" and is located in the Fishlake National Forest north of Bryce Canyon National Park in central Utah. It has been aged at 80,000 years, although 5-10,000 year-old clones are much more common.