Alnus rubra Bong. - Accepted: Alnus rubra Bong. bei The Plant List (2014), version 1.1; Familie: Betulaceae (APG III)

Flowers

monoecious; male (staminate) flowers in drooping catkins, female (pistillate) flowers in erect catkins

Flower ecology

wind-pollinated (anemophilous)

Life form

tree

Foliage persistence

deciduous

Fruits

flattened, winged nut fruit (samara)

Fruit ecology

wind-dispersed (anemochorous)

Soil conditions

on well-drained, gravelly and sandy soils to poorly drained clay or organic soils, also on colluvial soils of volcanic origin

Root type

shallow root system

Succession type

pioneer species

Natural occurrence (habitat)

along streams, moist bottomlands, moist lower slopes, riparian deciduous forests, coniferous forests, Douglas-fir forests

Vegetation typ and synecology (plant community)

temperate mixed deciduous forests to boreal coniferous forests

Constraints according radiation (light)

shade-intolerant

Comments

begin of seed production at about 10 years

Life span

relatively short-lived (up to 100 years)

Usage

wood is used for furniture making and cabinetry; also used for paneling, pallets, veneers, boxes, brush handles, shoe soles, and as firewood; formerly used for medicinal purposes (probably due its contained salicin)

Bark

thin, smooth, grey-whitish mottled, often moss-covered bark

Altidudinal lower limit (sea level in m)

0

Altitudinal higher limit (sea level in m)

1,097

Erhardt, W., Götz, E., Bödeker, N. & Seybold, S. (2008): Der große Zander. Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen. Band 2. Arten und Sorten. Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart (Hohenheim), 18. Aufl., 2103 S.;

Uchytil, R. J. (1989): Alnus rubra. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). See: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/alnrub/all.html;