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Alnus incana
Also called Gray Alder, Hoary Alder, Speckled Alder, Tag Alder
Grey alder is a fast-growing, multi-stemmed tree or large shrub in the birch family, native to cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It tolerates wet soils and poor ground, and it fixes nitrogen through root nodules.
Alnus incana, the grey alder, tag alder or speckled alder, is a species of multi-stemmed, shrubby tree in the birch family, with a wide range across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Tolerant of wetter soils, it can slowly spread with runners and is a common sight in swamps and wetlands.
Pedunculagin is an ellagitannin found in the Manchurian alder (A. hirsuta var. microphylla).
Alnus incana is a light-demanding, fast-growing tree that grows well on poorer soils. In central Europe, it is a colonist of alluvial land alongside mountain brooks and streams, occurring at elevations up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). However, it does not require moist soil, and will also colonize screes and shallow stony slopes. In the northern part of its range, it is a common tree species at sea level in forests, abandoned fields and on lakeshores. Several species of Lepidoptera use grey alder as a food plant for their caterpillars. In the boreal forest area of Canada, A. incana is often associated with black spruce in the forest type termed black spruce–speckled alder. The larvae of the alder woolly sawfly sometimes cause considerable defoliation to the grey alder.
The tree is cultivated in parks and gardens. The cultivar 'Aurea', with green-gold leaves, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Italian Alder · Common Alder · Himalayan Alder · White alder · Red Alder · Alder
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Alnus incana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
