Alder leaves and sometimes catkins are used as food by numerous butterflies and moths. Alder grows along rivers and on wetlands. Alder is the most common tree species in riparian forests, and it plays a crucial role in these stream- and loch-edge woodlands. Within its root nodules live bacteria, Frankia alni, that feed on sugars produced by the tree. In lowland Britain, especially in the west, alder trees are the main native tree to be found along streams and small rivers. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! They have flowers that are called catkins with elongated male catkins on the same plant as the shorter wider female catkins. Alder foliage provides shade which is beneficial to fish, including salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), and its leaves, which are relatively quick to decompose in water, provide nutrients for invertebrates such as the larvae of caddisflies, stoneflies and water beetles. Elm. A red dye can also be extracted from the outer bark, and a yellow dye from the inner bark.[15]. The easiest way of recognizing an alder tree is by its distinctive little fruiting body, called a strobile. (Chambers Pocket Herbal, 1800). But you can find elder almost anywhere, often colonising new open ground. The cones often remain on the tree during the wintertime, long after the seeds are gone. A central vein runs down the center of the leaf and a series of side veins run from the central vein to the outer edge, angled toward the leaf tip. The annual rate of growth can be up to 90 cm. Aspen. We deliver to UK and Europe addresses. This bacterium is found in root nodules, which may be as large as a human fist, with many small lobes, and light brown in colour. By continuing, you agree to receive cookies on our website. The flowers appear before the new leaves, in March (or early April in the Highlands), and pollination is by the wind. Knowing their ranges and leaf traits will help in separating one species from another. Alders have several distinctive features that keep them interesting throughout the year. © 2020. Shrubs with shoot buds not stalked, male and female catkins produced in late spring (after leaves appear) and expanding and pollinating then, one to four species: Genus of flowering plants in the birch family Betulaceae, "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew", http://www.officinadellambiente.com/it/articolo.php?idl1=0&idl2=0&id=3320, http://uomoenatura.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ontano-nero.pdf, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alder&oldid=980564309, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 September 2020, at 06:30. The female flowers on an alder tree stand upright at the ends of the twigs, while the male catkins are longer and hang down. Colorado’s major tree species include bristlecone pine, Colorado blue spruce, Douglas-fir, Engelmann spruce, limber pine, lodgepole pine, narrowleaf cottonwood, quaking aspen, piñon pine, plains cottonwood, ponderosa pine, Rocky Mountain juniper, subalpine fir and white fir. The easiest way of recognizing an alder tree is by its distinctive little fruiting body, called a strobile. Written and researched by: Andy Brown. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Over 140 phytophagous (ie plant eating) insects have been recorded on alder.