Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Fagales > Betulaceae > Alnus incana > Alnus incana tenuifolia

Alnus incana tenuifolia (mountain alder)

Synonyms:

Attributes

Bloom Period [1]  Early Spring
Drought Tolerance [1]  Low
Edible [2]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Fire Tolerance [1]  Medium
Flower Type [2]  Monoecious
Frost Free Days [1]  4 months 10 days
Fruit/Seed Abundance [1]  High
Fruit/Seed Begin [1]  Summer
Fruit/Seed End [1]  Fall
Growth Form [1]  Thicket Forming
Growth Period [1]  Spring, Summer
Growth Rate [1]  Rapid
Hazards [2]  The freshly harvested inner bark is emetic but is alright once it has been dried;
Leaf Type [2]  Deciduous
Lifespan [1]  Perennial
Pollinators [2]  Wind
Propagation [1]  Bare Root, Container, Seed
Root Depth [1]  18 inches (46 cm)
Seed Spread Rate [1]  Moderate
Seed Vigor [1]  Medium
Seeds Per [1]  674999 / lb (1488119 / kg)
Shape/Orientation [1]  Erect
Structure [2]  Tree
Usage [2]  This is an excellent pioneer species for re-establishing woodlands on disused farmland, difficult sites etc; Its fast rate of growth means that it quickly provides sheltered conditions to allow more permanent woodland trees to become established. In addition, bacteria on the roots fix atmospheric nitrogen - whilst this enables the tree to grow well in quite poor soils it also makes some of this nitrogen available to other plants growing nearby. Alder trees also have a heavy leaf canopy and when the leaves fall in the autumn they help to build up the humus content of the soil. Alder seedlings do not compete well in shady woodland conditions and so this species gradually dies out as the other trees become established; The tree has an extensive root system and can be planted to control banks from erosion; The bark and the strobils are a source of tannin; A dark dye is obtained from the bark; The colour can range from orange through red to brown; Wood - soft, straight-grained, very durable in water; It is of no commercial value, though it is used locally as a fuel;
Vegetative Spread Rate [1]  Slow
Flower Color [1]  Purple
Foliage Color [1]  Dark Green
Fruit Color [1]  Brown
Height [2]  30 feet (9 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [1]  USDA Zone: 0 Low Temperature: -65 F° (-53.9 C°) → -60 F° (-51.1 C°)
Light Preference [1]  Mixed Sun/Shade
Soil Acidity [1]  Neutral
Soil Fertility [1]  Intermediate
Water Use [1]  High
Screening - Summer [1]  Moderate
Screening - Winter [1]  Moderate
View Plants For A Future Record : Alnus incana tenuifolia

Protected Areas

Predators

Aplodontia rufa (mountain beaver)[3]
Aplodontia rufa californica[4]
Chionaspis salicis (black willow bark louse)[5]
Eriophyes laevis[6]
Neotoma cinerea (bushy-tailed woodrat)[7]

External References

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3Aplodontia rufa, Leslie N. Carraway and B. J. Verts, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 431, pp. 1-10 (1993)
♦ 4An Ecological Survey of Endemic MOUNTAIN BEAVERS (Aplodontia rufa) in California, 1979-83, Dale T. Steele', State of California, THE RESOURCES AGENCY, Department of Fish and Game
♦ 5Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
♦ 6Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
♦ 7Neotoma cinerea, Felisa A. Smith, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 564, pp. 1-8 (1997)
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0