Aspen

Botanical name: Populus grandidentata, P. tremuloides

 

Other names: US: aspen, bigtooth a., quaking a. UK: poplar FR: peuplier DE: Pappel IT: pioppo VL: (wit) populieren, aspen NL: populieren

 

The heartwood of aspen is grayish white to light grayish brown. The sapwood is lighter colored and generally merges gradually into the heartwood without being clearly marked. Aspen wood is usually straight grained with a fine, uniform texture. It is easily worked. Well-dried aspen lumber does not impart odor or flavor to foodstuffs. The wood of aspen is lightweight and soft. It is low in strength, moderately stiff, and moderately low in resistance to shock and has moderately high shrinkage.

Aspen is cut for lumber, pallets, boxes and crating, pulpwood, particleboard, strand panels, excelsior, matches, veneer, and miscellaneous turned articles. Today, aspen  is one of the preferred species for use in oriented  strandboard, a panel product that dominates the sheathing market.