This tree is widespread throughout the world. Trembling poplar (common aspen) is found everywhere. And yet it's powerful beautiful tree did not become a favorite of landscapers and gardeners. Even his rapid growth, few people consider dignity.

The reason for such a negative attitude towards the tree is Poplar fluff which gives people a lot of problems. Today we will introduce poplar trembling (poplar genus). This is one of the representatives of a large family, which includes about 90 species. All of them are divided into six sections.

1. Abaso (Mexican Mexican.

2. Aigeiros (delta poplars):

  • black poplar (black poplar);
  • deltoid;
  • pyramidal;
  • Bolle.

3. Leucoides (leucoid poplars):

  • heterogeneous;
  • white (or silver);
  • trembling (or aspen).

4. Tacamahaca (balsamic poplars):

  • balsamic;
  • bay leaf;
  • poplar Maksimovich.

5. Turanga: Euphrates Turanga.

6. Hybrids:

  • Berlin;
  • Moscow;
  • Canadian.

Trembling poplar: description

This is a dioecious deciduous tree with a powerful, well-developed root system. Trembling poplar (Latin - Pópulus trémula) grows up to 35 meters in height and lives up to 90 years. The bark is grey-green, smooth. Over time, it darkens and becomes covered with small cracks. The branches are long, with small, sticky, pointed buds.

Leaves

Poplar trembling (willow family) is densely covered with regular, rounded, long-leaved leaves with pinnate venation. Their length is from 3 to 7 cm, the upper surface is green, bluish below, uneven large teeth are located along the edge.

In autumn, the leaves turn bright yellow or Note poplar trembling (aspen). Even in completely calm windless weather, its leaves are constantly in motion, trembling. Such mobility is explained by flattened petioles, thinner in the center than at the edges.

Bloom

Poplar trembling (photo you can see in the article) blooms in last decade April or early May (depending on the growing region). The tree is covered with catkins: massive male (staminate) up to 15 cm long and thinner, small, pistillate female. Flowers of both types are arranged simply. They lack a perianth. AT male flowers there are 5-8 stamens and red anthers, while females have only a pistil with two stigmas. Flowering continues until the full bloom of the leaves.

Fruit

Fruit ripening occurs approximately thirty days after flowering. They open in early June. These are double sided boxes. large quantity small seeds, which are equipped with fluffy tufts of hairs. A thousand poplar seeds weigh tenths of a gram. They easily fly over long distances.

root system

Poplar trembling - a tree with a powerful Scattered seeds begin to germinate in just a few hours, falling on moist soil. The seed coat bursts, two tiny cotyledons appear. After about a day, the root appears at the seed.

K is a small stalk (no more than a pencil) and a taproot, the length of which reaches 30 cm. It should be noted that the trembling poplar (aspen) grows very quickly, especially in the early years. By the age of 20, the tree grows up to 10 meters, and by the age of 40, its height reaches its maximum size.

In the early years, the poplar has a more pronounced taproot. Over time, it slows down growth and soon stops growing altogether. During this period, lateral processes begin to actively grow. They lie shallow, in the upper layer of the soil, depart quite far from the mother plant and give abundant shoots. Shoots grow rapidly - in the first year they already reach a height of 50 cm.

Spreading

Poplar trembling is quite widespread. Its range is Eurasia, mountainous areas North Africa. Most of the range falls on the territory of our country. In Russia, aspen is distributed almost everywhere. In the north, it grows up to the borders of the forest with the tundra, in the south - to the arid steppes.

In the forest-steppe, the quivering poplar forms island groves. On saline soils, it can take a bushy form. In the Alps, it grows in the mountains, at an altitude of up to 2000 meters above sea level. The tree is photophilous, therefore, if other trees shade the poplar, it dies. Often, aspen becomes an admixture in birch forests.

Growing conditions

The trembling poplar is unpretentious to soils and climatic conditions. However, it develops more actively on fertile, mineral-rich, well-aerated soils.

The use of poplar

With a beautiful decorative crown, it is used in landscape design. Almost all of its numerous varieties are excellent for both single landings and group plantings. Everyone knows that poplar alleys are a classic of park landscapes.

Poplar trembling is a real air filter, which has found application in urban landscaping, as well as as a forest-forming species. Its wood is used in many industries - in the furniture, paper industry, construction.

Fine natural dyes are made from poplar leaves and inflorescences. The kidneys are used in folk medicine. Aspen wood is light, soft, but not very durable. Therefore, most often it goes to the manufacture of household items (shovels, ladles, spoons, other dugout utensils). Plywood and chips (shingles) are made from it, which is used in roofing. In sparsely forested areas, poplar wood is used as a building material for the construction of outbuildings.

But one cannot fail to say that it is easily affected by fungi that cause decay, so it is not recommended to use such material for the construction of residential buildings.

Aspen wood has found wide application in the production of matches. How did poplar attract manufacturers of such necessary products? In this case, its main advantage was taken into account - the absence of tannins and resins in the wood, which give off a smell when burned. In addition, it is very light, perfectly, without soot, it burns in a dry state. Match manufacturers also appreciated that poplar wood splits in the right direction.

Aspen bark has a bitter taste, but this does not prevent its use as food for game animals. With pleasure, moose gnaw at the bark from young trees. Hares prefer to clean it from fallen trunks.

During flowering, bees collect pollen and resinous bud fluid from flowers, turning it into propolis.

Diseases and pests

The most common diseases of trembling poplar are some types of necrosis and tree cancer. In this case, the affected trees must be eliminated, and the remaining stumps should be treated with fuel oil with creosol.

Young poplar seedlings are sometimes exposed to fungal diseases. Forestry and agrotechnical measures are used against them, they try to reduce soil moisture. Poplar pests are a large number of insects that lay their larvae on leaves. Insecticides are used in pest control. But before choosing the necessary preparation, it is necessary to find out which pest attacked the tree.

Medicinal properties and application

In traditional medicine, poplar trembling (aspen) has not yet found application. And in folk medicine, it has been used for a long time and very successfully. For the manufacture of medicinal preparations, traditional healers use the bark, leaves, kidneys.

Perhaps not everyone knows that in paganism, aspen was considered a tree overflowing with vitality - its leaves always rustle, as if they were having a leisurely conversation. That is why this tree began to be considered a salvation from all evil spirits. Thanks to numerous horror films and our contemporaries, it became known that it is necessary to fight vampires with the help of a wasp stake.

Traditional healers claim that preparations based on aspen (trembling poplar) have analgesic, diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. Kidneys also contain bitter glycosides, tannins, benzoic acid. Alcoholic extract from poplar buds has a bactericidal effect on certain types of dangerous microbes (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus). Buds are usually harvested in the spring, they are collected from young trees.

Infusion from the kidneys

Aspen buds can be infused with vodka, but it is better to use 70% alcohol in a ratio of 1:10. The infusion is prepared for seven days. This tincture is recommended for use in chronic and acute cystitis, rheumatism and padagra. Dilute 25-30 drops of the product in a third of a glass of water and take three times a day after meals.

Decoctions

A decoction of greenish young bark, according to doctors and the reviews of their patients, has a beneficial effect on the inflamed bladder and kidneys. It is not difficult to make it: pour 250 ml of water into a spoon (tablespoon) of dry crushed bark and boil the resulting mixture for fifteen minutes over low heat under a lid. Take two tablespoons (tablespoons) three times a day (before meals).

For coughs, colds, a different composition is used as a diuretic. Pour one spoonful of dry bark with two glasses of water and boil for half an hour. Let the product brew for at least three hours.

Leaf decoction

A very effective vitamin decoction is prepared from aspen leaves. To do this, you will need one part of dry crushed leaves, which must be poured with four parts of boiling water. The mixture is brought to a boil and left on low heat for fifteen minutes. Then it must be cooled, add a few drops of lemon and take a tablespoon four times a day.

You need to know that a decoction of leaves collected in the fall contains almost half as much vitamin C as from spring and even summer foliage.

Bark tincture

Folk healers different countries recommend to patients suffering from prostate hypertrophy to take alcohol tincture. Pour five tablespoons of dry bark with 0.5 liters of vodka and leave to infuse for two weeks in a dark place. An important detail - the young bark must be harvested in early spring when it is still greenish in color.

Take this composition in a dessert spoon twice a day, before meals. Thus it is possible to insist and kidneys. A tincture of them is taken twenty drops three times a day.

Ointments

Medical ointments are also prepared from poplar buds, which help nursing mothers get rid of cracks in the nipples. To do this, mix one part of the kidneys with two parts of pork fat, grind well and cook over low heat, stirring until all the moisture comes out of the mass. The same ointment gives excellent results in the treatment of hemorrhoidal cones.

Powdered dried poplar buds mixed with quality butter, is an excellent wound healing, as well as an anti-inflammatory agent for non-healing ulcers, burns. The ointment is also used to soften hemorrhoids.


The aspen tree is common in temperate climate. This species must be distinguished from poplar, its closest relative. With a slight breath of wind, its crown starts to move, so this plant is also called the "trembling poplar". However, it is valued not only for its decorative qualities. Different parts of the tree are used for construction purposes and medicine, and the shoots are fed to animals.

Description of the species

The aspen tree grows up to 15-20 m in height, some representatives can reach 30 m. This species has a straight columnar trunk up to 1 m in diameter and a gray smooth bark with an olive tint. On average, the life of an aspen is from 80 to 100 years, but some centenarians can grow up to 150 years or more.


The aspen has several characteristic features:

  • the bark remains smooth even in mature trees, sometimes shallow longitudinal cracks appear;
  • rounded leaves, which are light green at the beginning of the season, then darken, turn yellow and fall off;
  • flat, but powerful and wide root system;
  • the flowering period occurs in late July or early May.

The leaves have a rounded shape and are located on long flat cuttings.

In the photo, the aspen tree can be confused with poplar. To distinguish between these two varieties, it is enough to compare their leaves. They are rounded and have notches along the perimeter, and their width exceeds their length. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that they are fixed on flat cuttings. Thanks to this shape, they bend well, and with the slightest breath of wind, the crown starts to move. The front side of the plate is shiny, the back is matte.

In the description of the aspen tree, the shape and color of the flowers also matter. They are bisexual and form inflorescences - earrings. The female flowers are bright burgundy, the male flowers are light green. In autumn, they form boxes with seeds, which are then carried by the wind.

What is the value of a tree?

Aspen is grown on an industrial scale or parts are used wild trees. The bark is harvested for the winter and eaten to tone the body and strengthen the immune system. Branches are added to sauerkraut to increase shelf life. Previously, flour was prepared from this plant, which was used in baking bread. Now this tree is valued for its quality wood, and also continues to be used in traditional medicine.

The sex of a tree can be determined by the color of the inflorescences.

In medicine

Different parts of the aspen tree are a source of organic acids, vitamins, carbohydrates and other useful substances. Decoctions and infusions are prepared from its leaves and bark, shoots are used to prepare tinctures and ointments. Funds can also be added to restorative baths. Depending on the method of application, aspen allows you to get rid of a number of problems:

  • decoctions - from a wet cough and excessive sweating;
  • leaves - against hemorrhoids, seasonal diseases of the upper respiratory tract;
  • bark in the form of tinctures - for arthritis, cough, inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract, as well as to stimulate immune defenses and improve appetite;
  • annual shoots - with bleeding;
  • baths have a general strengthening effect, normalize the functioning of the nervous system.

Aspen-based medicines can be purchased at a pharmacy.


Aspen is popular exclusively in folk medicine. Such funds have a milder effect than pharmaceutical preparations, but before using them, you should consult a doctor.

For soil cultivation

Aspen improves the properties of the soil on which it grows. In the autumn period, one can observe abundant leaf fall, and trees also shed small branches. During the winter, this material undergoes a series of chemical transformations and becomes a useful fertilizer. In addition, the root system has its own characteristics. The roots are shallow, but spread over a considerable distance. In the soil in which aspen grew, there are multi-level passages that are used by more demanding crops. The cultivation of this species is practiced to improve clayey and insufficiently fertile soils with low moisture conductivity.

Aspen has a powerful root system and often crowds out other plants.

Aspen wood in construction

Aspen is also processed into boards. For construction purposes, mature trees that have reached the age of 40-45 years are suitable. The wood is light, almost has no pattern. It has several features:

  • high resistance to high humidity and precipitation;
  • soft, but homogeneous structure;
  • long service life - over time it does not crack;
  • low cost.

Aspen wood belongs to unstable species, therefore it is not suitable for the construction of residential premises. However, it is popular in the manufacture of wells, baths and other buildings, as well as in the production of matches.

In landscape design

It is important to understand where the aspen tree grows in order to use it in landscape design. She prefers well-lit areas and crowds out other plant varieties.
Representatives of this species grow rapidly, in the first years forming up to 3 m of young shoots. They are not afraid of heat and frost, quickly recovering after winter. However, they have one problem - the center of the trunk often rots.
With age, the trees become loose and brittle, so when growing them in cultivated conditions, it is important to check their condition annually.

Aspen

In terms of shear strength, aspen is similar to linden and surpasses conifers in this, as well as poplar.

Aspen: what it looks like and how it differs from poplar

And in terms of resistance to splitting from impact, it stands next to birch and ash, even ahead of beech, oak, maple, walnut, linden, coniferous trees. This indicates the viscosity of aspen. Aspen is cut elastically, even tight, with effort, but the surface is good in all directions, it is perfectly ground and polished. Considering the indicated properties of aspen, it is especially advantageous to use it for crafts with blind carvings, for making complex, one-piece ornaments or such decorations. Let us also mention the famous property of the silvery glow of aspen, which we observe on the roofs of the cathedrals of wooden architecture of the North of our country covered with plowshares (figured carved planks).

General view of the tree

Aspen fruits on the branches

aspen leaves

ASPEN FORESTS

Arrangement of stresses: AXIS`NEW FORESTS`

ASPEN FORESTS, aspen forests, deciduous small leaves. plantations with a predominance of aspen in the composition of forest stands. Widespread in the North. hemisphere throughout the West. Europe and North. America. In the USSR, O. l. are not formed everywhere, but only on the richest soils under conditions favorable climate. Largest areas O. l. concentrated in the south. parts of the forest zone of Europe. parts, in the forest-steppe, in the south of the West. Siberia, where they replace the forest stand of primary forests and belong to derivatives. In steppe conditions, along saucer-shaped depressions, aspen forms small areas of pure nature. forest stands, called aspen pegs.

In the USSR, among softwoods. forests O. l. make up 16% of forest stands and occupy the 2nd place (after birch plantations). Area O. l. approx. 18.5 million hectares with a timber reserve of 2.6 billion m3. In the typological in relation to them, the most characteristic are complex, oxalis and blueberry groups of forest types, characteristic of spruce, pine or oak forests. Tree stand O. l. forest zone have in their composition an admixture of tree species inherent in primary forests (spruce, fir, pine, oak, linden, etc.), and sometimes also birch, gray alder. On fresh soddy-medium podzolic loamy soils, aspen forests grow on mantle loam, diverse in composition and complex in structure. Many O. l. have 3 tiers: main. the canopy of the 1st tier consists of aspen and partly of birch, the 2nd tier - of spruce, oak, gray alder, the 3rd tier - of undergrowth. Living ground cover in these forests in the main. consists of a mink, zelenchuk, goutweed, sour, fern, meadowsweet, nettle.


Floodplain aspen forest (Sumy region)

In rare cases (usually on burnt areas) O.

Aspen, or trembling poplar: medicinal properties and use in traditional medicine

l. are renewed by seed, more often, especially in clearings, - vegetatively, by root offspring and stump growth in young age. Such vegetative stands are characterized by different clones. Due to the ability to reproduce by root offspring, aspen quickly captures the vacated area in clearings. Already in the 2nd year after felling, a large number of root suckers appear. Due to the very large number of trunks per unit area and the love of light of aspen, the stand of O. l. experienced intensely from early age. At the age of 10, the stock of stem wood per 1 ha is 40-50 m3, by the age of 30 it increases 3-4 times (150-200 m3), and by the age of 70 it reaches 500-550 m3. In plantations growing in particularly favorable conditions, cf. stock at the age of 70 650 m3/ha. Quantity. ripeness occurs at 25-30 years, technical - at 35. Maximum cf. growth is noted by the age of 40; it is 2.9-3.9 m3/ha in plantings of class I. O. l. give wood, to-paradise is widely used in decomp. industries x-va (see Aspen), including in the production of substitutes for liquid fuels. O. l. are often faut (because of aspen's susceptibility to heart rot infection) with low stand structure. There are forms and ecotypes of aspen that are weakly affected by aspen tinder fungus.


Ripening aspen forest in autumn (Moscow region)

In aspen plantations, clear-cutting is carried out (starting from the age of 41) with different widths of cutting areas, depending on the forest group and protection category. At the same time, the direct adjacency of cutting areas provides nature. renewal of aspen forests in clearings. If available in O. l. viable spruce undergrowth and the 2nd tier of coniferous species, cutting is carried out taking into account the obligations. conservation of conifers. In aspen plantations, where intensive cuttings were carried out (in 2 stages - at the age of up to 15 years and at 20-25 years), the age of felling of aspen forests in most economic regions of Europe. parts of the USSR in high-quality forests are recommended to be reduced to 31 years. It gives meaning. increase in the allowable cutting area and where there is spruce undergrowth and the 2nd tier, allows you to harvest two harvests of wood per unit area (one aspen, the other spruce). Aspen young are natural. feeding grounds for elk, deer and other mammals (rodents).

(Mikhailov L. E-, Osinniki, M., 1972; Gurov A. F., Mikhailov L. E., Growing high-quality stands of aspen and birch, in the book: Felling and forest restoration, M., 1980; Mikhailov L. V., Storozhenko V. G., Diagnosis of resistance of aspen forests to rot diseases, "Forestry", 1980. No. 10.)

  1. Forest encyclopedia: In 2 volumes, v.2 / Ch.ed. Vorobyov G.I.; Editorial staff: Anuchin N.A., Atrokhin V.G., Vinogradov V.N. and others - M .: Sov. encyclopedia, 1986.-631 p., ill.

The cost of equipment for the confectionery shop www.svcraft.ru.

Aspen

Aspen(populus tremula) - Aspen is the second largest hardwood in terms of area (1/10 of this area), grows almost everywhere. Aspen is a nuclear-free breed. The wood is white, with a greenish tint; annual layers are poorly visible, medullary rays are not visible. Aspen wood has a homogeneous structure, is easily peeled, impregnated and does not give a very smoky flame (raw material for the match industry).

Aspen is used in agriculture(wells, cellars, roof shingles, etc.)

Aspen Magic

etc.), as well as for the production of fibreboard, cellulose, cardboard, plywood, in the wood chemistry and other industries. Application is limited due to heart rot, which is often found in growing trees. Do not favor the aspen tree ornamental material in the special literature on woodworking: it occupies one of the last places in terms of the percentage of output of parts of excellent and good quality during processing - planing, milling, turning, drilling. And woodcarvers love aspen, like linden, for its ease of processing, for its light tone, fine fiber texture, and for the fact that it is affordable and even more common than linden. In the handicraft industry, aspen is also “respected” for the fact that it is not afraid of moisture, for its low density. Only Siberian fir and poplar have a density less than that of aspen, while linden has the same density. Therefore, aspen is used to make light toys and dishes. Previously, troughs, tubs, and gangs were made from it. In addition, it does not crack and does not prick from impact. In addition, aspen peels well - shingles are made from it, matches are made.

Aspen has another completely unexpected property - a strong increase in strength during exposure. With her lightness! The practice of our ancestors confirms what has been said, although it does not fully reveal all the reasons and secrets. It turns out that the walls of the huts built of aspen many years ago still amaze with their strength, whiteness and purity. The ax bounces off such wood, at best it sticks only shallowly. It is not for nothing that aspen is now used in villages for the manufacture of shelves and benches in baths, for facing their walls - it is hygienic, bright and clean, is not afraid of moisture, does not warp or crack. It also turns out that experienced villagers make handles and handles for agricultural implements, when the combination of lightness and strength, just from aspen, is worth its weight in gold. Only for this purpose it is necessary to cut down a young aspen in the spring, when the wood is filled with juice, and allow it to dry well in the shade - to dry out. Then it will become both light and strong, like a bone. Obviously, the aspen does not just dry out, some kind of polymerization occurs under the action of the components of its juice. Oral legends say that they did the same with the harvesting of aspen logs for construction, only on each of them two or three grooves were made along the log on the bark so that the wood did not rot during drying, and the necessary juice was preserved in moderation. For the same reasons, when drying an unskinned aspen trunk, some branches were sometimes left on its top, which pulled excess moisture out of the wood. To obtain the ideal aspen wood, its trunks were harvested along with the birth of a son in the family, and it dried up until the son was separated from the family and a house was built for him. The best ax for a carpenter and joiner, as well as for a home craftsman, is also made from well-aged aspen. It is not only light, but it also does not bruise the hand, does not fill corns, which usually happens when working with a birch ax handle, polished and slipping out of the hands (although it is better to buy an ax handle for an ax for chopping firewood from birch: its fracture strength does not depend slept from the time of year).

Another property of aspen, which is a vice in woodworking, deserves attention. This is the presence of a hollow and rot in the middle of large trunks.

Any wood that is not protected by varnishes or paints turns gray and gradually collapses and rots. Unpainted aspen also turns gray, but unlike other types of wood, it is more resistant to weathering and, having acquired its silvery gray color with a metallic tint over several years (according to some reports, for 8-10 years), it retains it for many decades. . In appearance, aspen can only be confused with its related poplar (aspen has a second name - trembling poplar). She, like the white poplar, has a smooth greenish-gray bark, brownish at the base, cracked (in old trees). But the aspen leaf, unlike poplar, is ovoid.

General view of the tree

Aspen fruits on the branches

Longitudinal and cross cuts

Botanical illustration from O. V. Tome's book "Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz", 1885

Aspen growing north of the Arctic Circle in Norway

aspen leaves

AT recent times great attention is given to aspen propagation by summer cuttings as one of the promising ways vegetative propagation.

Earlier studies of aspen propagation by summer cuttings led to the following conclusions.

1. Successful propagation is possible only when the cuttings are harvested from young queen cells, best of all from one-year-old offspring; this conclusion is also contained in works devoted to other tree species.

2. The best results of rooting of summer cuttings in comparison with rooting in an open field were obtained in a greenhouse and under synthetic cover. For example, in Germany, under synthetic coating, rooting was achieved in the amount of 68%, without coating - 34%. Therefore, an important prerequisite for the rooting of summer cuttings is the right optimum temperature. In the USA, this temperature is 24.4-29.4 °, at which rooting takes place within 14 days. In Finland, the optimum temperature is 20-25°C with a relative humidity of over 90%.

3. In special studies, sand or a mixture of peat and sand in a ratio of 1: 2 was recognized as the best substrate for rooting. According to another experience, it is a mixture of sphagnum peat and coarse sand (sand grain diameter 3-5 mm).

4. Regarding the time and method of harvesting cuttings, you must be guided by the following guidelines. The cuttings must be mature, with two buds (the upper oblique cut is 1 cm above the upper bud, the lower one is 0.5 cm below the lower bud). The canvas of the leaves is reduced as needed (about half). The cuttings are planted in a substrate with a depth of 0.5-1.0 cm. According to the results of experiments in Poland, the cuttings should be 5-8 cm long with at least one leaf and two buds, harvesting time is the first half of July, when the shoots are ripe and have lost pubescence. When cuttings are treated with pyrogallol, rooting does not depend on the time of their preparation.

Summer cuttings from root offspring are taken at a time when they have reached a height of about 10 cm (8-15). The immature top of the root cuttings is cut off, and the summer cuttings are harvested in their basal part. The size of the cuttings does not affect the result of rooting.

5. Rooting is largely due to the aspen clone. For example, in Germany, it was found that, depending on the clone, the percentage of rooting varies from 40 to 100 under the film and from 10 to 80 without it (in greenhouse conditions).

6. The use of various growth stimulants and chemicals gives positive results. For example, in Finland, in the subgenus Leuce, the best rooting results (94%) were achieved using indolylbutyric acid as a stimulant.

7. It is necessary to create queen cells (for a certain property or sign of aspen) in order to obtain summer cuttings for their mass reproduction.

Sometimes, when aspen is propagated by summer cuttings, methods developed for other species of the poplar genus (in the subgenus Leuce) can be used.

Common aspen: what a tree, leaves and fruits look like

Such, for example, is the method of vegetative propagation of hybrids of white poplar with aspen, developed in UkrNIILKhA. It consists of the following steps:

Harvesting the roots of elite trees for forcing outgrowth and preparing them for planting in greenhouse conditions;

Planting root cuttings and overgrown forcing;

Obtaining varietal planting material by green cuttings from root shoots;

Bookmarks of a uterine plantation from rooted green cuttings of root shoots for subsequent vegetative propagation.

In 1981-1982 in LatNIILKhP investigated the reproduction of aspen by summer cuttings in laboratory conditions. For this purpose, we used a growing cabinet with dimensions of 75X160X240 cm with automatically controlled lighting, temperature and water supply. The substrate was neutralized sphagnum peat, perlite or sand over the expanded clay drainage layer. Summer cuttings were harvested: 1) in spring - from root shoots grown in boxes in a greenhouse; 2) in summer (end of June or beginning of July) - from one-year-old root suckers on a seed plantation. In these experiments, when a temperature of 24-28°C was provided at artificial lighting or 18-20° without it, relative humidity air 95% and artificial fine fog, rooting was 77-88%.

Previously, neutralized sphagnum peat proved to be the best rooting substrate (88% rooting), mainly because the cuttings developed a strong compact root system that promotes survival after transplanting to the nursery. Good rooting results also corresponded to the sandy substrate (77%), but the roots formed here are long, elongated, and it is difficult to preserve them during transplantation.

It is too early to judge the suitability of perlite, research in this direction continues. The best results are obtained from shoots grown in a greenhouse from root cuttings.

Experiences in Latvia have confirmed that successful rooting of summer cuttings requires equipment that automatically regulates temperature, moisture and the supply of artificial fine mist.

Rooted cuttings after transplanting them to beds in a greenhouse with a synthetic coating successfully took root (86%) and reached an average of 120 cm in height and 7 mm in thickness at the root collar in the first year (maximum, respectively, 210 cm and 14 mm).

According to data on aspen flowering in the forests of the USSR, depending on climatic conditions(from the Arkhangelsk region to the foothills North Caucasus) the average timing of aspen flowering varies from north to south from April 25 to March 17, the latest - from May 29 to March 23, and the earliest - from April 2 to March 10. This should be taken into account when exchanging pollen and aspen seeds from different climatic zones.

In Latvia, aspen blossoms in most cases in the second decade of April. Seeds ripen at the end of May or early June, but most often in the third decade of May. Their departure takes place in a very short time - within 2-8 days, depending on weather conditions. Therefore, for the collection of seeds, it is very important to accurately determine the period of their ripening. Experience confirms that it is necessary to start collecting fruit earrings at the moment when the first fruit boxes begin to open in them, that is, the ends of white hairs - flyers appear.

In order not to harm the tree, it is recommended to collect earrings directly, without branches. In order to obtain a high-quality harvest, the necessary measures must be taken to destroy pests, especially the caterpillars of the frog moth butterfly (Batracherda praengusia), and to prevent their mass distribution. The spread of pests is especially facilitated by warm and dry weather.

To obtain high-quality offspring, seeds are collected from pre-selected plus trees. It is also important that there are plus male pollinators close to the plus females. On plus trees, catkins are collected by climbing them with the help of special climbing devices that do not damage the tree.

It is impossible to recognize as a rational method of collecting seeds in the Oboyansky forestry enterprise, according to which females are cut down 10-12 days before the expected ripening of seeds, pollinated abundantly to kill pests, pollinated again after 2-3 days and after the appearance of the first down, earrings are collected.

In Czechoslovakia, it is recommended to collect seeds after departure at the place of fall. However, in Latvia this is possible only in a plentiful seed year, when during the period of maturation and emergence of seeds there are optimal weather(sunny and no wind). Seeds, according to the observations of P. Reim, fly away 400-500 m from the mother tree, and a little rain, wetting the fluff, makes their collection impossible. Ideal weather conditions in Latvia were noted only in 1964. If the collected fruit earrings are not processed immediately after collection, they are placed in a cellar on ice and stored in this form until processing.

An important and time-consuming process is obtaining seeds from collected catkins, as well as cleaning them from voles and carpels. Usually for this, the earrings are rubbed through a sieve with holes of 2-3 mm. This is a long process, and some of the seeds remain in the mashed bats. Below is a description of one of the many methods successfully used in Poland. An elephant of 20 cm earrings is placed in the cellar; when the boxes begin to fade and white fluff appears on their tops, it's time to harvest the seeds. The latter are removed from the boxes, first rubbing for 2-3 minutes between the palms, then through a sieve; get about 30-40% of the possible number of seeds.

Within 2 hours, the seeds dry out, and they are rubbed again. After repeated rubbing, 15-20% of the seeds still remain in the fluff ball. If necessary, after repeated drying, wipe a third time.

In the laboratory of forest breeding LatNIILKhP, the problem of cleaning seeds from fluff has been solved. To facilitate and speed up cleaning, as well as increase the yield of seeds, a device of our own design was used. Cleaning immediately after collection is carried out as follows: the earrings are spread on the table under room conditions with a layer of about 5 cm; after a few days, when some of the boxes have already opened, a layer of fluff with seeds forms above them. A special device can be used to collect seeds and clean them from fluff.

When the fan is turned on, a forced air flow is created, which sucks seeds and fluff folded in a heap through the sieve cylinder and tip. The presence of a sieve cylinder makes it possible to separate seeds and fluff from a heap, which enter the storage chamber through a flexible hose. Upon entering this chamber, the seeds are separated from the fluff and sent through the separating mesh to an additional container, and the fluff is collected in the rear part of the storage chamber under the action of the air flow. To clean the outer surface of the sieve cylinder from heap particles, the tip is made rotatable.

Reception, if necessary, can be repeated several times until all the seeds are collected. For 3-7 days, all seeds gradually ripen (previously ripened ones are collected at the first receptions). Thus, seed losses are minimal and seed yield is maximized. The device facilitates and speeds up the process of cleaning seeds and allows you to increase their yield (2-8% of the mass of freshly harvested earrings), since much less seeds remain in the separated fluff. With manual cleaning of seeds, their yield is only 0.5-2%.

Instead of said device, it is possible to successfully use a vacuum cleaner in combination with sieves of an appropriate size; in this case, it is only more inconvenient to work and the yield of seeds is somewhat less.

The quality of aspen seeds was carefully studied by P.

How to distinguish aspen from poplar

Reim in Estonia. According to him, well-ripened seeds are yellow-brown in color with a purple tint, 0.9-1.2 mm long on average, 0.3-0.6 wide and 0.2-0.4 mm thick. Seeds that have ripened after collecting earrings, that is, artificially, are slightly lighter, and their mass is less than that of those that have ripened naturally on a tree (for example, the mass of seeds collected a week before natural maturity is less than half). The fewer seeds in the box (the worse the pollination conditions), the greater the mass of individual seeds. The mass of seeds from trees up to 15 years old is less than from older trees.

In Latvia, aspen seed color ranges from greenish-yellow to various shades of brown; the weight of 1000 seeds, depending on the parent tree and other circumstances, ranges from 0.08 to 0.15 g, on average 0.12 g.

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Aspen

Aspen(populus tremula) - Aspen is the second largest hardwood in terms of area (1/10 of this area), grows almost everywhere. Aspen is a nuclear-free breed. The wood is white, with a greenish tint; annual layers are poorly visible, medullary rays are not visible. Aspen wood has a homogeneous structure, is easily peeled, impregnated and does not give a very smoky flame (raw material for the match industry).

Aspen is used in agriculture (wells, cellars, roofing shingles, etc.), as well as for the production of fibreboard, cellulose, cardboard, plywood, in wood chemistry and other industries. Application is limited due to heart rot, which is often found in growing trees. Aspen wood is not favored as an ornamental material in the special literature on woodworking: it occupies one of the last places in terms of the percentage of output of parts of excellent and good quality during processing - planing, milling, turning, drilling. And woodcarvers love aspen, like linden, for its ease of processing, for its light tone, fine fiber texture, and for the fact that it is affordable and even more common than linden. In the handicraft industry, aspen is also “respected” for the fact that it is not afraid of moisture, for its low density. Only Siberian fir and poplar have a density less than that of aspen, while linden has the same density. Therefore, aspen is used to make light toys and dishes. Previously, troughs, tubs, and gangs were made from it. In addition, it does not crack and does not prick from impact. In addition, aspen peels well - shingles are made from it, matches are made.

Aspen has another completely unexpected property - a strong increase in strength during exposure. With her lightness! The practice of our ancestors confirms what has been said, although it does not fully reveal all the reasons and secrets. It turns out that the walls of the huts built of aspen many years ago still amaze with their strength, whiteness and purity. The ax bounces off such wood, at best it sticks only shallowly. It is not for nothing that aspen is now used in villages for the manufacture of shelves and benches in baths, for facing their walls - it is hygienic, bright and clean, is not afraid of moisture, does not warp or crack. It also turns out that experienced villagers make handles and handles for agricultural implements, when the combination of lightness and strength, just from aspen, is worth its weight in gold. Only for this purpose it is necessary to cut down a young aspen in the spring, when the wood is filled with juice, and allow it to dry well in the shade - to dry out. Then it will become both light and strong, like a bone. Obviously, the aspen does not just dry out, some kind of polymerization occurs under the action of the components of its juice. Oral legends say that they did the same with the harvesting of aspen logs for construction, only on each of them two or three grooves were made along the log on the bark so that the wood did not rot during drying, and the necessary juice was preserved in moderation. For the same reasons, when drying an unskinned aspen trunk, some branches were sometimes left on its top, which pulled excess moisture out of the wood. To obtain the ideal aspen wood, its trunks were harvested along with the birth of a son in the family, and it dried up until the son was separated from the family and a house was built for him. The best ax for a carpenter and joiner, as well as for a home craftsman, is also made from well-aged aspen. It is not only light, but it also does not bruise the hand, does not fill corns, which usually happens when working with a birch ax handle, polished and slipping out of the hands (although it is better to buy an ax handle for an ax for chopping firewood from birch: its fracture strength does not depend slept from the time of year).

Another property of aspen, which is a vice in woodworking, deserves attention. This is the presence of a hollow and rot in the middle of large trunks.

In terms of shear strength, aspen is similar to linden and surpasses conifers in this, as well as poplar. And in terms of resistance to splitting from impact, it stands next to birch and ash, even ahead of beech, oak, maple, walnut, linden, coniferous trees. This indicates the viscosity of aspen. Aspen is cut elastically, even tight, with effort, but the surface is good in all directions, it is perfectly ground and polished. Considering the indicated properties of aspen, it is especially advantageous to use it for crafts with blind carvings, for making complex, one-piece ornaments or such decorations. Let us also mention the famous property of the silvery glow of aspen, which we observe on the roofs of the cathedrals of wooden architecture of the North of our country covered with plowshares (figured carved planks).

Any wood that is not protected by varnishes or paints turns gray and gradually collapses and rots. Unpainted aspen also turns gray, but unlike other types of wood, it is more resistant to weathering and, having acquired its silvery gray color with a metallic tint over several years (according to some reports, for 8-10 years), it retains it for many decades. . In appearance, aspen can only be confused with its related poplar (aspen has a second name - trembling poplar).

What does an aspen tree look like (photo)?

She, like the white poplar, has a smooth greenish-gray bark, brownish at the base, cracked (in old trees). But the aspen leaf, unlike poplar, is ovoid.

General view of the tree

Aspen fruits on the branches

Longitudinal and cross cuts

Botanical illustration from O. V. Tome's book "Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz", 1885

Aspen growing north of the Arctic Circle in Norway

Aspen and poplar, two trees that perform perfectly different functions in nature. But both are priceless in their own way. Aspen - for people's health. Poplar - for ecology. Aspen belongs to the willow family. Usually this tree grows in the forest, but there are exceptions. This is due to the fact that it is quite susceptible to tree diseases. The forest thicket is a reliable home for aspen, as dense plantings form a kind of shield from the wind. After all, it is the wind that carries all existing bacteria and microbes that affect the plant fauna. Despite this, healthy representatives of this plant are long-lived, the age of some specimens reaches 130 years.

Aspen has a slender and tall trunk, in appearance it is very similar to poplar, they belong to the same family. To understand how to distinguish an aspen from a poplar, it is enough to look at the base of its trunk, and if you can not see the roots protruding outward, then this is definitely not a poplar. When the weather is calm, and the crown of the tree is swaying, there is no doubt - this is an aspen. In the forest, it is definitely impossible to confuse aspen with poplar, since it simply does not grow there. Poplar has a powerful trunk, a very strong root system, as mentioned above. Poplar roots are located almost at the surface of the soil. He is very prolific, around you can see a lot of young offspring. Aspen roots are located deep underground.

Before you get rid of the aspen, it will not be superfluous to remember that, according to an ancient legend, the aspen drives away unclean forces from housing. And in general, you should not destroy trees without special need. But if there is a poplar on the site, this need may arise. The poplar will drown out with its roots any plant growing nearby. He is able to lift asphalt and destroy the foundations of residential buildings. This plant has only one advantage - thanks to the resinous surface of its leaves, it is an excellent air orderly.

If you walk through the forest after the fire, you need to pay attention to how the aspen looks. Due to the structure of the root system, it is one of the few that survives fires. Due to the fact that the aspen feeds deep underground, the topsoil around this tree is the most fertile. That is why the mushroom "boletus" has chosen a place under the aspen. There is a saying among the people “trembling like an aspen leaf”, it is used in speech circulation associated with the expression of fear. Botany, on the other hand, says that thin cuttings cannot cope with the weight of a leaf, so aspen crowns are always in motion.

Aspen is an excellent natural antiseptic. Aspen as a medicine is applicable for many diseases, since its bark, wood, buds, and even leaves have antibacterial substances. In the old days, when there were no dentists and other doctors, people with headaches and toothaches went to the forest “to hug an aspen”. They applied the diseased side to the bark of a tree, and waited for healing. If you have walls in the steam room made of aspen wood, the effect of the healing properties of the Russian bath increases significantly. For the same effect, it is necessary to have a tub for water made of aspen in the steam room. For people with problem skin (psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema), an aspen broom in a steam room is a salvation from the disease. So many useful properties carries this tree. And he grows mushrooms, and drives away evil spirits, is a doctor. It is worth taking care of the faithful guardian of mankind.

Or early autumn before the leaves fall. In winter, this is more difficult to do, but still possible.

In the spring, notice how the buds open on the tree. Take a branch home and put it in the water. On a poplar branch, the leaves will begin to bloom quickly and will have a characteristic smell and stickiness. Aspen buds wake up more slowly, and the leaves do not shine so brightly.

What does aspen wood look like: properties

If other trees are destined to die during forest fires, then dormant aspen roots, “feeling” the liberated areas of forest space after cutting down damaged trunks, become active and give numerous shoots. Aspen seeds are also able to scatter for many kilometers, giving rise to new seedlings. They only need to touch the surface of the earth and in 2 years a full-fledged tree will appear in this place. And the aspen is growing very fast. If spruce and pine grow for a century for use in the sawmill industry, then aspen will mature in 30 years.

Aspen wood is white, dense, but soft and supple. Since ancient times, it has been used to make blanks for wood, log cabins of wells, planks for the foundation of church domes. Since aspen wood feels good in a humid environment and does not rot for a long time, boats were made from it. The only drawback is the fact that aspen is prone to rotting inside the trunk. Usually this is characteristic of old trees, but they are able to transmit a tendency to this disease to their offspring. Therefore, scientists set out to get healthy trees by crossing common aspen with other species of the poplar genus.

In the modern sawmill industry, the rounded triploid aspen trunk is successfully used for the manufacture of furniture. If outwardly this species in the forest cannot be distinguished from the common aspen, then the quality of the wood cannot be confused with them.

The appearance of the aspen

Aspen is distinguished by a columnar trunk, which can reach a length of 35 m and a diameter of 1 m. Decorative forms have pyramidal and weeping crowns. A characteristic feature of this tree is the smooth bark of light green or light gray. Closer to the roots with age, it darkens and cracks. The wood is white with a slight greenish tinge. At night, aspen bark can be confused with birch, although if you touch it, they become noticeable from birch bark. The bark of birch is rough.

In winter, due to the lack of foliage, aspen can be confused with poplar. They can be distinguished, perhaps, only by location. So, poplar is usually not found in forests, and in the city, on the contrary, aspen rarely grows. A more reliable difference is the kidneys. In poplar they are longer.

AT summer time aspen can be confidently recognized by its leaves. They are round or rhombic in shape with uneven notched edges, 3-7 cm long. In coppice shoots, the leaves, as a rule, have big sizes: their length reaches 15 cm. At the same time, they have an almost heart-shaped shape.

The venation of aspen leaves is pinnate. They are smooth on both sides, but on the outside they are dark green in color, and on the bottom they are light gray-green. With the advent of autumn, the foliage is painted in a variety of colors - from golden to crimson.

The arrangement of branches and leaves at the aspen is next. It is noteworthy that the leaves on this tree tremble excitedly even at the slightest breeze. It's all because of their special structure. Aspen leaves have long petioles that are flattened, while in the middle they are thinner. Meanwhile, there is "tremble like a leaf", which means "shake with fear."

Aspen is a dioecious plant. Its flowers are inconspicuous, small, collected in hanging earrings. The flowers on the male tree are reddish in color and up to 15 cm long. The female catkins are greenish and slightly thinner. Aspen blooms before the leaves bloom.

Where does the aspen grow?

Aspen feels good on different soils. It grows in the forest-steppe and forest zones. It can be seen in forests, along river banks, edges, occasionally in clearings and dry sands, along ravines and in the mountains.

Often it forms aspen forests and is part of a mixed forest in company with deciduous and coniferous species. Usually next to the aspen you can see pine, larch, birch, alder. The aspen is able to survive a forest fire because its roots are located deep underground.