Black Alder

Black Alder

Alnus glutinosa

Betulaceae (Birch Family)

▲ ▼ Trees in landscape

▲ Leaves

▲ Bark

▲ Inflorescences and immature cones

▲ Mature black "cone" fruit

Location in Springfield, MO: near entrance to Springfield Nature Center

Alnus glutinosa: Black Alder, Common Alder

• leaves alternate, deciduous, simple, rounded to oval, with slightly serrate margins and rounded to somewhat indented leaf tip; medium to dark green and glossy above, with some hair tufts along veins underneath; 2-4 inches long and nearly equally wide
  • there are some “cutleaf" cultivars available for this species with deeply, narrowly-lobed leaves
  • fall color is not usually showy--sometimes golden yellow
• stems greenish-brown to brown
• bark is shiny gray-green to greenish brown on young trees, becoming all brown with age grows 40-70' tall with near equal spread in a pyramidal to oval habit
• flowers are catkins, and fruit is a black, miniature pine cone-like fruit (strobile) on 1/2 to 1 inch stalks
• grows 40-60 feet tall (often shorter in urban settings) with a oval to pyramidal growth habit
• prefers full sun to part shade and moist, fertile, slightly acid soils, but can tolerate drier soils--may shed some leaves early in dry summers
• medium to fast growth rate
• is a nitrogen-fixing plant