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SHOT 8/2/14 8:38:48 AM - A grove of aspen trees in the early morning fog in Granite, Co. The San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 54 fourteeners, peaks over 14,000 feet high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado. Populus tremuloides is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, Quakies or mountain or golden aspen. The trees have tall trunks, up to 25 meters (82 feet) tall, with smooth pale bark, scarred with black. The glossy green leaves, dull beneath, become golden to yellow, rarely red, in autumn. The species often propagates through its roots to form large clonal groves originating from a shared root system. These roots are not rhizomes, as new growth develops from adventitious buds on the parent root system (the ortet).
(Photo by Marc Piscotty / © 2014)
