It is visible from both ends of Farmers Loop, a sizable plot where every tree, like members of a synchronized swim team, turned yellow at the same instant.
Those same trees seem to do this days or even weeks before the next door neighbors give up the green.
I’ve tried a few times to go to that fast-changing example of what I think must be Populus tremuloides, but when I reached what I thought was the spot, I couldn’t tell for sure.
Seen from a distance, everything is clear. But from close range you can’t tell the forest from the trees.
One arboreal weed, to use Joe Vogler’s term, looks like another when they are right in front of your eyes.
In land he developed not so far away from the big yellow splash, which became University Heights Subdivision, Vogler waged all-out war on aspens. He included a covenant that all “poplar, cottonwood and aspen trees” had to be destroyed by whoever bought land from him.
When buyers refused to destroy the offending vegetation, Vogler took the husbands to court, but he lost in the Alaska Supreme Court. It didn’t help his case that even Vogler found it impossible to wipe out the arboreal weeds on his own property, such was their power to spread through their roots.
Live and let live ruled the day.
His theory was that after a fire in 1907 or 1908, poplar, cottonwood and aspen established themselves on the hillside. “According to Mr. Vogler, spruce and birch will eventually take over, but it might take 200 years if left entirely to natural growth,” the Supreme Court decision said.
Vogler, a champion of lost causes, wanted to hasten the transformation to spruce and birch by eradicating the aspen.
To each his own. I have always liked aspen trees and their quaking golden leaves. I also find it intriguing that hundreds or even thousands of trees could be considered part of one plant.
The best description I’ve seen of this phenomenon is in Fairbanksan Ronald Smith’s great book, “Interior & Northern Alaska: A Natural History.”
Aspen trees can expand their dominion through their roots, which is why some people say the largest plant in the world is an aspen grove in Utah.
“Propagation from roots is common in aspen, constituting asexual reproduction,” Smith writes. “New saplings sprouted in this manner are usually still connected by their root systems to the ‘parent’ tree.”
All of the trees connected in that manner are like stems from the same plant and have the same branch structure. They are genetically identical to the parent plant, which makes them clones.
“It is easy to see these clones on an Alaskan hillside in the fall when leaves are turning,” Smith tells us. “All the individuals in a clone have the same genetic information for timing the yellowing and loss of leaves.”
“Nearby, unrelated clones often have slightly different genetic instructions for leaf yellowing. In September, you can see clumps of yellow adjacent to clumps of green or yellow-green leaves. Each clump represents a separate clone.”
Smith points out that the quaking aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America.
“In a breeze, leaves flutter or tremble, making a characteristic sound,” he said.
At this time of year, the sounds are mixed with the silent passage of leaves floating down to the ground.
•••
LABOR DAY PARADE: The 26th annual Labor Day Parade and Picnic, sponsored by the Fairbanks Central Labor Council, start Monday at noon at the Noel Wien Library.
The parade from the library to Pioneer Park will be led by the Army band from Fort Wainwright.
Robert Luchini, the owner of Star Electric, and Milt Behr, a retiree from Local 302 of the Operating Engineers and past president of the Fairbanks Central Labor Council, will be the grand marshals of the parade.
The parade-reviewing stand will be in the parking lot at Pioneer Park. There also wil be a picnic at Pioneer Park, with games and rides for kids, plus food and entertainment for people of all ages, starting at 1 p.m.
Lake Williams, president of the Fairbanks Central Labor Council, said the celebration is open to everyone in the community. You don’t have to be a union member to participate.
The picnic is free to those who walk in the parade. The cost is $5 per person or $10 per family otherwise.
The union with the largest number of parade participants is to receive a trophy.
Meanwhile, the volunteers who make up the Friends of the Tanana Valley Railroad invite you to ride the historic steam engine at Pioneer Park. Engine No. 1 will be operating Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“This is your only chance to see fall colors from a steam train in Fairbanks, bring the kids for a ride,” said Dan Osborne of the railroad support group.
Dermot Cole can be reached at cole@newsminer.com or
459-7530.
Joe LaRocca