Populus grandidentata, Michx.

Form.—Height 30-60 feet, diameter 1-2 feet; trunk continuous, tapering; slender ascending branches forming a somewhat loose oval crown.

Leaves.—Alternate, simple, round-ovate, coarsely sinuate-toothed, thin, dark green above, paler beneath, smooth; petioles long, slender, laterally flattened.

Flowers.—April-May, before the leaves; dioecious; staminate in short catkins; pistillate in elongating looser catkins.

Fruit.—Two-halved, cone-shaped, hairy capsules ? inch long on drooping catkins; seeds brown, small, with long white hairs.

Bark.—Smooth except near the base, gray-green, resembling that of American Aspen, but with more yellowish or buff color on young trunks and limbs.

Wood.—Light, soft, not strong, light brown with almost white sapwood.

Range.—Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Minnesota to Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Delaware; southward along the Alleghanies to North Carolina.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Not common. Found in the following localities: Webster, on Elk Mountain; Randolph, Horton and Gandy Creek; Tucker, near Davis; Monongalia, Deckers Creek; Tyler near Middlebourne. Reported from Ohio and Preston counties.

Habitat.—Rich, moist, sandy soil.

Notes.—This tree can be distinguished by its coarse-toothed leaves. It is comparatively rare and of little importance commercially.