Aspen in spring. Aspen (tree): description with photo. A collection of photos and the benefits of a pet

What an aspen looks like, almost everyone knows. Its round leaves are easy to recognize among the variety of trees. The tree grows in almost every yard. For many centuries, healers have used aspen parts for medicinal purposes, and craftsmen have highly appreciated the qualities of wood. It is interesting that many signs and superstitions are associated with aspen.

What an aspen looks like, almost everyone knows

What does an aspen look like

Common aspen (Populus tremula) belongs to the willow family of the genus Poplar. In the people it is often called a whisper-tree, a shaker. An adult plant can reach a height of 35 m, and a diameter of 1 m. Young trees have a smooth light green bark. In those that are older, it is dark gray, has numerous cracks and internodes. Thanks to this feature, aspen is easy to recognize among other trees after autumn leaf fall.

The root is very powerful, going deep into the ground, with a large number of offspring. Thanks to such a root system, it is aspen forests that most often form in places after forest fires. After all, even if the trunk is burned, the roots remain alive and young shoots appear from them very soon. And since the tree belongs to the category of fast-growing, then the restoration takes place in just a few years.

The decoration of the aspen is its unusual foliage. The ovoid crown of the tree consists of many round, heart-shaped leaves with a serrated edge that look like coins. Each leaf "sits" on a long petiole, flattened at the top. This structural feature explains the fact that all aspen leaves move at the slightest breath of wind. On an adult tree, foliage appears 3 weeks after flowering. In early autumn, it acquires bright warm colors - from yellow-lemon to purple-red and crimson. It is the aspen with its quivering multi-colored crown that becomes the main decoration of the forests before the leaf fall.

Recipes for delicious pickled butter for the winter

Common aspen (Populus tremula) belongs to the willow family of the genus Poplar

The buds of the tree are large, ovoid. In spring, fragrant catkins with small nondescript flowers from 5 to 15 cm long bloom from them. Aspen blooms in April-May, while the branches are still bare. Since this plant is bisexual, the colors of the earrings are different. In men, it acquires a pink, reddish hue, and in women, from white to pale green. A month after the start of flowering, numerous small seeds are formed, which are carried by the wind over long distances. They germinate quickly, which explains such a wide distribution of aspen.

In addition to Russia, it forms deciduous forests in Kazakhstan, Korea, China, Mongolia, as well as in Western Europe.

Gallery: aspen (25 photos)

Healing properties of aspen (video)

It is believed that the name aspen itself comes from the word "blue". Our ancestors also noticed that the place where the tree was cut becomes blue. In ancient times, this was given magical significance. However, modern scientists have found that this is a chemical reaction to the interaction of tannins contained in wood with the metal of an ax or saw. The interesting texture of wood is highly appreciated by craftsmen, using wood as a material for creating items for various purposes.

The Latin name of the aspen - Populus tremula - is translated into Russian as "trembling man". They say that about a frozen or frightened person - it trembles like an aspen leaf. There is a widespread belief that the ability of a tree to tremble with leaves even in calm weather is due to the fact that Judas Iscariot, a traitor of Jesus Christ, once hanged himself on it. And, according to superstition, at every memory of this terrible event, the aspen begins to tremble in fear.

How is the bark of the ant tree used?

However, as scientists have found out, this tree never grew in Palestine: neither in biblical times, nor today.

Experts explain the property of leaves to tremble simply. It's all about the leaf structure. Everyone who looked closely at what an aspen tree looks like noticed that its leaves are relatively wide and dense to the touch, while the petioles are very long and flexible. Therefore, they cannot hold the leaves straight. This simple fact explains the sensitivity of aspen to any movement of air.

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 in a favorable climate. The largest areas of 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 (Sumy region)

In rare cases (usually on burnt areas) O.

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

l. they are renewed by seed, more often, especially in clearings, - vegetatively, by root suckers and stumps at a 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. intensely experienced from an 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. an increase in the allowable cutting area, and where there is spruce undergrowth and the 2nd tier, allows you to take two crops 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.)

Forest encyclopedia: In 2 volumes, v.2 / Ch.ed. Vorobyov G.I.; Editorial team: 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, roofing 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. 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 also does not bruise the hand, does not fill corns, which usually happens when working with a birch ax handle, which is polished and slips 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 sources, 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

Recently, much attention has been paid to aspen propagation by summer cuttings as one of the promising methods of 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 desired 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 with artificial lighting or 18-20°C without it, relative humidity of 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 of the North Caucasus), the average aspen flowering time 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 there are optimal weather conditions (sunny and no wind) during the period of seed maturation and emergence. 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 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 the earrings, that is, artificially, are slightly lighter, and their mass is less than that of those that have ripened naturally on the 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 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.

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).

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

This plant (Latin name Populus tremula) has another name - trembling poplar. It belongs to the willow family. Aspen can reach a height of 30 meters, and the diameter of the trunk can reach 1 meter. The crown of the tree, which has an ovoid or wide-cylindrical shape, is covered in the warm season with rounded leaves with teeth along the edges, which tremble at the slightest movement of air. Hence the second name of the aspen. From early spring to autumn, the leaves are gray-green in color, and in autumn they change color, becoming golden yellow or brown-red. The tree sheds its leaves in winter. The trunk of the aspen is protected by a greenish-olive bark which, from completely smooth in young individuals, becomes dark gray and cracks as the tree ages. Poplar trembling lives up to 150 years.

In April, the first flowers begin to appear on the crown of the tree, which are collected in male and female inflorescences, which are large earrings, reaching a length of about 15 cm. They evenly cover the entire crown of the tree. What is remarkable is that aspen begins to bloom earlier than the first foliage appears on its branches. The flowering period of the trembling poplar lasts only a week. After a little more than a month, aspen seeds ripen in place of the flowers, which, thanks to the hairs on them, are easily carried by the wind through the air over long distances. Aspen very quickly occupies free areas, so it is found almost everywhere. Aspen groves appear where deforestation has been carried out or the former forest (spruce, pine or broad-leaved) was destroyed by fire. The habitat is distributed throughout Eurasia. In addition, this tree is also found in North Korea.

Harvesting and storage of aspen

Various parts of the tree have healing properties:

bark (harvest period - early spring, when the juice begins to move along the trunk);
kidneys (harvested simultaneously with the bark, as soon as they begin to swell);
leaves (harvested during May - June).

The bark is collected as follows: on young shoots of trees, the bark is cut in a circle in two places, and then a longitudinal cut is made between these cuts, and the bark is carefully removed from the branch. After that, all the prepared bark is laid out in a thin layer and dried in the fresh air in a shaded place. Harvested aspen leaves are dried in the same way. But the kidneys collected from the tree must be immediately subjected to drying in an oven heated to 60-70 ° C. You can store dried raw materials in a dry place, placing it in a linen bag or cardboard box, but not more than three years.

Application in everyday life

Currently, the use of aspen in everyday life is limited to the use of wood. In addition to aspen firewood, aspen lining, which has a reddish color, is very popular. This color gives the wood a large amount of iodine contained in it. That is why aspen is highly valued for cladding the walls of baths and saunas.

But our ancestors never fermented cabbage without aspen twigs, which were placed in a barrel of salt, so that the product would not ferment. In addition, they also consumed the bark of this plant in the winter. The powder obtained by crushing dry bark was added to food. This helped relieve fatigue and restore muscle performance. This property of aspen was especially appreciated by hunters who make long trips in search of prey.

The composition and medicinal properties of aspen

Aspen leaves are rich in: glycosides (their content reaches 2.2%), salicin directly; carotene; ascorbic acid (vitamin C); proteins; fats; fiber.
The bark of this tree is rich in: glycosides (their content reaches 4.4%), in particular salicin, salicorin, tremulacin, bitter glycosides and populin; essential oils; pectin; salicylase enzyme; tannins (their content reaches 10%); minerals: copper, molybdenum, cobalt, zinc, iron, iodine and nickel.
Trembling poplar buds are rich in: glycosides (salicin and populin); benzoic and malic acids; tannins; essential oils.
Our official medicine does not use aspen preparations for the treatment of diseases. However, Western European doctors use drugs produced by the pharmacological industry based on aspen to combat pathologies in the prostate and bladder.
Medicinal raw materials from aspen can be prescribed as an antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, diaphoretic, antirheumatic, diuretic and expectorant drug.
Infusion and decoction prepared from aspen buds will help with arthritis, gout, hemorrhoids, bladder, prostate, lungs.
Alcohol infusion of aspen buds will help fight gastritis, dysentery, cystitis and hemorrhoids.
An ointment prepared using aspen buds will help speed up the healing of wounds, chronic ulcers, and also relieve pain in the joints.
A decoction of aspen bark can be used if the patient has gastritis, diarrhea, or disturbances in the normal functioning of the digestive tract.
Fresh aspen leaves are indispensable in the treatment of hemorrhoids. They are also used for poultices in case of gout or rheumatism. Juice obtained by squeezing fresh aspen leaves can cleanse the skin of warts and lichen.

The use of aspen in traditional medicine

Adherents of folk methods of treatment have been successfully using the healing properties of aspen for a long time to combat various diseases. However, before using the recipe of this or that healing agent obtained from aspen raw materials, it is necessary to consult with a qualified specialist about the possibility of this. Only with his consent can you prepare healing remedies based on aspen at home for the purpose of their further use. The following are examples of recipes for such remedies.

Poultices of fresh aspen leaves used to combat hemorrhoids

Fresh aspen leaves must be crushed, and then take 2-3 tablespoons of this mass, wrap it in gauze and steam it. After that, the poultice must be applied to the area affected by hemorrhoids. The same poultices will relieve pain in the joints when they are affected by arthritis. The procedure must be performed 3 to 4 times during one week. Please note that a break between poultices should be done at least 24 hours.

A decoction of aspen bark, prescribed in the treatment of prostatic hypertrophy, pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, bladder and fever

Dry aspen bark is ground to a powder in a mortar. Take one and a half tablespoons of this powder, fill it with half a liter of water and bring it to a boil, putting it on fire. After the volume of liquid is reduced by half, remove the decoction of fire and strain. Add honey to your liking. You need to drink the composition three times a day, drinking 70-80 ml of the product at a time.

Alcoholic tincture of aspen buds, used to combat gastritis, dysentery, cystitis and hemorrhoids

It is necessary to pour 1 part of aspen buds with ten parts of vodka. Let the vodka infuse on the kidneys for 48 hours. Then the tincture must be filtered. It is drunk in the amount of one teaspoon at a time three times throughout the day until you feel better.

A decoction of aspen buds, used in the treatment of diseases of the kidneys, bladder, diabetes and cough

It is necessary to pour one tablespoon of aspen buds with 200 ml of boiling water, and then put the container on the fire and boil the buds for 60 minutes. After that, removing the decoction from the heat, strain it and take 1-2 tablespoons three times a day.

A decoction of aspen twigs, its leaves and bark, used in the treatment of nephritis

Grind young aspen twigs, its bark and dry leaves in a mortar. Then take 1 tablespoon of such raw materials and fill it with a glass of boiling water. Place the container with the broth on the fire, bring the liquid to a boil, and let the broth simmer for another 10 minutes. Then remove it from heat, let the liquid cool at room temperature and strain the broth. Take half a glass at a time. During the day, you need to carry out three doses.

Aspen bud ointment used to relieve joint pain in arthritis

Aspen buds must be ground in a mortar, and then mix the mass with vegetable oil in equal parts. The resulting ointment must be rubbed into the joints affected by arthritis. This remedy is very good at relieving pain.

Aspen bud infusion used for nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting)

Grind 2 teaspoons of aspen buds with a mortar. Pour them into a thermos and pour 200 ml of boiling water. After that, close the thermos and leave it for 60 minutes to infuse the broth. Then strain the infusion and carefully squeeze the kidneys. Dosage of taking this remedy: 1 tablespoon of infusion half an hour before meals. It is necessary to perform 3 doses throughout the day.

Contraindications for use

Since all aspen products have an astringent effect, their use is strictly prohibited for chronic constipation.
It is necessary to limit the use of aspen medicinal products for intestinal dysbacteriosis.
Rarely enough, but still there is a personal intolerance to aspen. In this case, the use of preparations from aspen raw materials is also strictly prohibited.

What an aspen looks like, almost everyone knows

What does an aspen look like

Grass initial medicinal

Common aspen (Populus tremula) belongs to the willow family of the genus Poplar

In addition to Russia, it forms deciduous forests in Kazakhstan, Korea, China, Mongolia, as well as in Western Europe.

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However, as scientists have found out, this tree never grew in Palestine: neither in biblical times, nor today.

Aspen

Name: Common aspen.

Other names: Poplar trembling.

Latin name: Populus tremula L.

Family: Willow (Salicaceae)

Kinds: Aspen is one of the varieties of poplar with characteristic rounded hard leaves that sway with the slightest breath of breeze. This feature of the tree is associated with the structure of the cuttings of its leaves, flattened and thin in the middle. Aspen is easily recognizable by its light gray bark and the reddish tint of saw cut wood.

Lifespan: Photophilous, lives up to 150 years.

plant type: Large deciduous tree.

Trunk (stem): The crown is rounded, wide-conical.

Height: Up to 35 meters high.

Leaves: The leaves are rounded, grayish-green, with jagged edges. The petioles are strongly flattened from the sides, which makes the leaves sway even with a slight wind.

Flowers, inflorescences: Flower catkins drooping, cylindrical.

flowering time: Blooms in April, before the leaves open.

Fruit: The fruit is a box, seeds with a fluffy tuft.

ripening time: Ripens in June.

collection time: Branches and bark are harvested in early spring during the period of sap flow, buds - before blooming, leaves - in May-June.

Features of collection, drying and storage: Every 30 cm, circular incisions are made, which are connected by longitudinal ones, after which the bark is easily removed. The bark is dried under a canopy or in a ventilated room. Aspen buds are harvested at the beginning of flowering trees, breaking them off from the branches. The collected kidneys are dried in the shade in a draft or in a warm, ventilated room, spreading a thin (1-2 cm) layer on a cloth or paper and stirring occasionally. Young, fully developed leaves are used fresh or dried.

Spreading: In Russia, common aspen is found throughout the territory (except for the Kuriles); in Ukraine - throughout the territory.

habitats: Grows along the banks of reservoirs, in forests, along the edges, on dry sands and clearings, along ravines, swamps and in the mountains.

Interesting Facts: Due to its light wood, this tree was widely used by the people for the manufacture of household items (skis, wheel rims, arches, skids, matches, etc.). Currently, aspen is used for finishing saunas, as its wood is resistant to decay and does not emit resin. From the flexible shoots of the young shoots of the plant weave baskets and furniture.
The ancient Russian village of Khokhloma has become famous throughout the world for its skilled craftsmen who make painted wooden jugs, dishes, cups, spoons, and toys. Many of these products are made of aspen! It cuts well with a knife, and it pricks perfectly with an ax.
Young shoots are the main food for moose, hares, deer, beavers. Animals know about the healing properties of tree bark and carefully gnaw it in winter or eat rough young twigs, which is also useful for our pets. Zealous owners have long collected aspen buds for bird feed and knit brooms from its branches for goats, sheep and rabbits.

Signs, proverbs, legends: According to ancient beliefs, the aspen stake was the main weapon against evil spirits. Starting to build a hut, the peasants drove aspen pegs into the corners of the foundation. If the child suffered from insomnia, he was placed in an aspen cradle. When an epidemic of a dangerous disease approached the village, felled aspen trees were woven into the ground.

medicinal parts: Bark, leaves, young shoots and buds serve as medicinal raw materials.

Useful content: The bark contains carbohydrates, aromatic acids, tannins, higher fatty acids. Carbohydrates, aromatic acids, tannins were found in the kidneys. The leaves contain carbohydrates, organic acids, carotene, vitamin C, flavonoids, phenol glycosides, anthocyanins and tannins.

Actions: Aspen preparations have diaphoretic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, emollient, astringent and diuretic properties.

Infusion or decoction of kidneys administered orally for polyarthritis, gout, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, acute and chronic inflammation of the bladder, urinary incontinence and painful urination (especially during pregnancy and after operations), in case of prostate enlargement and as an antipyretic for fever.

Dosage forms:

Infusion of kidneys . 2 teaspoons of crushed kidneys in 2 cups of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, strain. Drink the infusion throughout the day.

Decoction of buds or bark . 45 grams of kidneys or bark per 500 ml of water, boil until the liquid is half evaporated, strain, add honey or sugar to taste. Take ¼ cup 3 times a day.

Kidney tincture . 1 part kidney to 10 parts 40% alcohol. Take 20-30 drops 3 times a day.

Ointment . 1 part raw materials in powder form to 4 parts cow butter or petroleum jelly. Apply to sore spots.

External kidney tincture . 1 part kidney to 5 parts 40% alcohol. Apply to sore spots.

Compress . Wrap 2-3 tablespoons of crushed leaves in gauze, immerse in boiling water. Apply the compress to sore spots.

Healing recipes:

Infusion of kidneys . 2 teaspoons of crushed kidneys in 2 cups of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes, strain. Drink the infusion throughout the day.
Haemorrhoids .

aspen leaves apply on hemorrhoidal bumps and hold for about 2 hours, if this does not cause concern. Then the leaves are removed and washed. After 1-2 days, the procedure can be repeated.

bark decoction . 1 tablespoon of raw materials in 1 glass of water, boil for 20 minutes, leave for 2 hours, strain. Take 1/3 cup 3 times a day after meals and in the form of baths.

Get well!