bigtooth aspen
The bigtooth aspen is a native pioneer species that probably started out as a wind-dispersed seed that landed in the upland area of Salter Grove. Even though a mature individual can produce over a million seeds per growing season, there are great odds against successful establishment for any particular seed given the short viability period of only two weeks.
Only one individual of this dioecious species has been located in the park so the only way for more stems to grow in the future would be for suckering to occur. In the wild, the roots of individuals damaged by fire or harvest will often sprout to form clonal stands.
The stem can grow as much as 8 feet in a season resulting in a fine-textured and soft wood that is mostly used for pulp. Wildlife feed on its leaves, buds and bark.