The Nature LibraryEN·ES
← The ApothecarySalicaceaebark, leaves, budsFact-checked 23 October 2026

Quaking aspen

Populus tremuloides

Also calledTrembling aspen · Popple (North American English)

A North American relative of the willows whose bark, like willow bark, contains salicylate glycosides. Indigenous nations used it for joint pain, coughs, colds, wounds and stomach complaints, and settlers used the bark as a substitute for quinine. It has not been tested in clinical trials.

Full natural-history sheet →

What it is used for

  • Recorded among Native American uses of quaking aspen for joint pain (Moerman's Native American ethnobotany).1

  • Cough
    Traditional

    Recorded Native American uses include coughs and colds.1

  • Recorded Native American uses include heartburn and stomach pain.1

  • Wounds and cuts
    Traditional

    Used as a wound dressing in recorded Native American practice.1

  • Fever
    Traditional

    Indigenous North Americans and settlers in the western US extracted a substance from the bark as a substitute for quinine.2

Safety

Pregnancy
Avoid
Breastfeeding
Avoid
Children
By analogy with willow bark, the EMA contraindicates salicylate-containing bark preparations under 18 because of the risk of Reye's syndrome.

Interactions with medicines

  • anticoagulants (e.g. warfarin)ModerateBy analogy with willow bark, salicylates may increase the effect of coumarin anticoagulants.
  • aspirin and other NSAIDsModerateAdditive salicylate and stomach-irritant effects; the EMA advises against combining willow bark with them without medical advice.
Interaction checker →

Do not use if

  • Allergy or asthma triggered by aspirin or other salicylates (by analogy with willow bark)
  • Active stomach ulcer
  • Bleeding disorders
  • G6PD deficiency

Side effects

  • Not studied; by analogy with willow bark, stomach upset and allergic skin reactions

In the healing traditions

  • Indigenous North American

    Quaking aspen

    Joint pain, heartburn and stomach pain, wound dressing, colds, coughs, bed-wetting and other uses recorded across many nations.

    Moerman DE, Native American Ethnobotany (1998)

  • Western herbalism

    Aspen bark

    Bark used by settlers of the western United States as a quinine substitute for fevers.

Active compounds

salicin and related salicylate glycosides
the same family of compounds as in willow bark, converted in the body to salicylic acid

History

Native American uses of quaking aspen were gathered in Daniel Moerman's 1998 survey of Native American ethnobotany, ranging from joint pain and coughs to wound dressings. Its bark was also used by settlers in the western United States as a substitute for quinine.

Sources

  1. 1.Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York Metropolitan Flora: Populus tremuloides (medicinal uses citing Moerman 1998)
  2. 2.Wikipedia: Populus tremuloides (bark as quinine substitute)
  3. 3.EMA/HMPC: European Union herbal monograph on Salix, cortex (willow bark), Rev. 1 (2017)

Reference, not prescription. Nothing here is medical advice. Herbs can interact with medicines and be dangerous in pregnancy; tell your doctor or pharmacist about anything you take.