Family: Betulaceae

Scientific Name: Alnus glutinosa

Common Name: Black Alder, Tag Alder

Description

Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa) is a small native tree that tolerates wet areas but will also tolerate average soils to wet soil levels.

Pronunciation(AL-nus)(glue-ti-NO-sa)
Plant TypeAll Plants, Trees Deciduous, Site author's observations
Hardiness Zone4
Sunlightfull to part sun
Moistureprefers moist or wet, tolerates average,
Soil & Siteprefers moist to wet, tolerates average
Flowersnot showy, forms long male catkins and oval female catkins, dried female catkins look like small conifer cones
Fruitsmall winged nutlet
Leavessimple, alternate, green, oval,
Rootscan fix nitrogen in the soil
Dimensionscan reach 40-60 feet tall in optimum conditions, will be shrubby in not so optimum conditions
MaintenanceI wouldn't plant near a deck, sidewalk or driveway, the dropping catkins are very messy.
Misc Factsaka:Common Alder, European Alder
Author's NotesThis was a common weedy tree growing in the wet swampy areas where I grew up. Never seemed to reach any size. Can be a very messy tree when it starts dropping the catkins.
Notes & Reference#1-Manual of Woody Landscape Plants (Michael Dirr), #93-North American Landscape Trees (Arthur Lee Jacobson)
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