Description

Leaves: Simple; alternate; round to broadly ovate; 1-1/2" to 3" long and wide; deciduous; margin with rounded teeth; acute apex; glabrous; dark green above, waxy and lighter colored below, turning bright yellow in fall; petiole 1-1/2" to 3" long, flattened laterally, causing leaf to flutter in the wind.

Twigs/buds: Twigs slender; glabrous; green at first, turing brown; held strongly upright. Buds similar to quaking aspen.

Flowers/fruit: Dioecious; 'Erecta' is said to be seedless (male). Similar to quaking aspen.

Bark: Smooth; white to cream colored.

Wood: No information available; presumably similar to quaking aspen.

General: Native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa; not Utah. Very shade intolerant.  May be insect and/or disease prone, especially when stressed.  Sucker (sprout) growth can be a problem.

Landscape Use: Not very commonly planted in Utah; a better choice than Lombardy poplar when a narrow canopyed tree is desired, since it is less disease-prone.  I have seen this planted on a parking strip in Salt Lake City doing well and not suffering the way quaking aspen would be in the same setting, with no signs of sucker sprouts. However, I have read that it does sprout. Tolerant of a wide variety of soil and environmental conditions, though avoid extreme heat. 'Erecta' will get 30' to 60' tall but stays very narrow (less than 10' wide). Zones 2-6.

Cultivar: 'Pendula', 'Pyramidalis', 'Tower'.

Characteristics