One Aspen Grove in Utah Is a Single Organism
An aspen is a poplar whose leaves tremble in the slightest breeze. A grove in Utah called Pando is one connected clone and among the heaviest living things known.
An aspen is a poplar known for leaves that shake in the faintest wind. The trembling has a mechanical cause: the leaf stalk is flattened at right angles to the blade, so the leaf pivots easily. And a grove is often not a group of trees at all — Pando, in Utah, is a single quaking aspen clone of tens of thousands of stems sharing one root system, among the heaviest organisms ever measured.
- A trembling poplar. *A stand of aspen.*
- Quaking aspen — the American species. *Quaking aspen turn gold in autumn.*
- The wood. *Aspen is light and pale.*
- Tremble like an aspen leaf — shake with fear. *Trembling like an aspen leaf.*
- Pando — the Utah clone. *Pando covers over forty hectares.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | aspen | A young aspen. |
| Plural | aspens | Golden aspens. |
| Adjective | aspen | Aspen leaves. |
| Old English | æspe | The tree. |
| Related | poplar | A row of poplars. |
- The aspens turned gold in September.Autumn colour.
- She was trembling like an aspen leaf.An old simile.
- Pando is one organism, not a forest.Biology.
Why aspen leaves quake
- The petiole is flattened at right angles to the leaf blade
- That makes it flexible in one plane and stiff in the other
- Even slight air movement sets the leaf pivoting
- One suggestion is that it reduces heat load and improves light use lower down
- The sound is distinctive enough that groves can be identified by ear
Old English *æspe*, the aspen tree, from a Proto-Germanic root. The modern form comes from the adjective *æspen*, made of aspen wood.
Why do aspen leaves shake?
Because the leaf stalk is flattened sideways, so the leaf pivots at the slightest movement of air.
What is Pando?
A single quaking aspen clone in Utah, with tens of thousands of stems from one root system, covering more than forty hectares.