whoa. good stuff.

almost certainly aspens, not birches, right?

Almost certainly. http://photography.nationalgeo...

BIRCHES DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY DUCK

@aparrish @jazon I changed the title as according to the comments on NG, these are birches, yo.

They're both angiosperms in the dark.

Birches love colorado.

It's hard to tell Aspen apart from Birch from just a photograph. here's why I think it's an aspen:

1. BARK: whileoth aspen and birch trees have white bark with brown or black markings, birch tree bark flakes off in sheets creating a fringed look. Aspen bark remains solid. Looking at the foreground tree on the left, the bark looks solid and firm - no flaking.

2. LEAVES: Aspen leaves have a squat, almost heart-shaped appearance. Birch leaves are longer. It's a jumble in the picture, but the leaves look round and squat.

3. NEW GROWTH: Birch trees produce sprouts from the base of an old tree only. The roots of aspen trees spread underground and new sprouts may surface several feet from the original tree. The new growth in the picture are coming up from the ground, not for old stumps.

and 4: the photographer called the picture "Aspen Forest, Colorado" I would hope he'd be accurate in his title, but even if not he's calling the trees Aspens.

also, AFAIK paper/silver birch groves like this would be pretty rare in colorado, outside a botanical garden, whereas aspen groves are all over the place.

@jazon @aparrish I stand corrected

99 problems but a birch ain't one of them.