Aspen (Populus tremula): what the forestry bodies record

This page reports what forestry bodies say about one tree. It does not identify trees from descriptions or photos and does not say what should be done with any tree. Each fact names its source, all read on October 9, 2026. The agency records for North American poplars are on the balsam poplar page.

At a glance

Item	What the source records
Scientific name and family	Populus tremula, family Salicaceae (Woodland Trust)
Common names	Aspen, quaking aspen, common aspen and European aspen (Woodland Trust); Forest Research files it as Aspen with the code ASP
Origin	Native to Britain, one of two native poplars with black poplar; a Secondary tree species in Forest Research's list
Height	Up to 25 m (Forest Research and Woodland Trust)
Sex	Dioecious: male and female catkins on different trees, appearing in March and April (Woodland Trust)

Range

Forest Research says aspen is native to Britain and widespread in northern and central Europe. The Woodland Trust says it grows in clonal colonies, particularly in ancient woods and heaths and on well-drained soil near rivers, and that in the United Kingdom it is most common in the north-west of Scotland. EUFORGEN, the European forest genetic resources programme, gives a range through the cooler temperate and boreal zones of Europe and some of Asia, reaching North Africa.

Site and spread

Forest Research calls aspen a light demanding, fast-growing pioneer that grows on a wide range of sites from slightly dry to wet and from poor to rich nutrient status. It is moderately tolerant of exposure, cold hardy and frost resistant. The entry says it typically colonises open ground after disturbances such as harvesting or fire, and that most stands are small and kept going by root suckers that may spread a considerable distance. It says natural regeneration is reported to be rare, although viable seed has been found in Scottish stands. EUFORGEN says it needs bare soils without competing vegetation for natural regeneration and establishes by root suckers or seed. The Woodland Trust says it is intolerant of shade.

Leaves and bark

The Woodland Trust describes grey bark, often pitted with diamond-shaped pores called lenticels, and older trees covered in lichen that gives the trunk a black appearance. Leaves are round with large irregular blunt teeth. The Woodland Trust and EUFORGEN both give flat, bendy leaf stalks near the blade as the reason the leaves flutter. Young leaves are coppery before turning green, then yellow or occasionally red in autumn. In winter it names very knobbly twigs with buds spiralling and pressed to the twig.

Wildlife and wood

Forest Research says aspen is said to have more host-specific species than any other boreal tree. The Woodland Trust names two gall midge species and the aspen hoverfly, which feeds on microorganisms in dead aspen wood, and says deadwood cavities give nesting for birds such as the woodpecker and that beavers prefer aspen. For wood, EUFORGEN says it is light but not particularly strong and is used for veneer, paper, charcoal and chip-wood, and in bioenergy because of its fast growth. Forest Research says it is an important timber tree in parts of mainland Europe, while in Britain it mainly fills an ecological role or is grown on short rotations of 20 to 30 years.

Pests and diseases the sources name

Forest Research says aspen can be attacked by leaf rusts, Melampsora species, which can result in serious defoliation, that older and larger trees can be killed by the stem rot Phellinus tremulae, and that bacterial canker can seriously damage certain clones. It adds that aspen is a favoured browse species and that protection against deer is needed in plantings. This site's guide to powdery mildew on trees covers a different leaf fungus from extension sources.

Text on Forest Research is adapted from its tree species database entry and contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.