Those would be male if they're releasing pollen. The female flowers are on separate trees and the pods (fruit) of the female open up to release wads of cotton with a tiny seed attached to each strand.
Our trembling aspen around here is starting to look sickly from disease. I don't know what hit them last year, but they took a terrible hammering. Didn't even turn yellow in the fall, just went from green to dead brown. I always said the first crop of aspen is going to be the best, I don't think the suckered stuff does as well.
Have ya guessed what that tiny flower is yet I posted a bit ago? If no one guesses, I'll keep adding pics as it develops into the fruit. You might be surprised.
