A project of the Chicago Botanic Garden
COMMON NAME
Red alder
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Alnus rubra
PLANT FAMILY
Birch family (Betulaceae)
PLANT GROUP
Deciduous Trees and Shrubs
This common deciduous tree is often found along roadsides and old clearcuts. Its male (staminate) flowers hang in distinctive tassel-like "catkins," and the female flowers look like tiny pinecones.
84 reports
21+
OBSERVERS
84+
OBSERVATIONS
Identification hints
This common deciduous tree is often found along roadsides and old clearcuts. Its male (staminate) flowers hang in distinctive tassel-like catkins, and the female flowers look like tiny pinecones.
Did you know?
The ethnobotanical uses of Red alder are very interesting. The layers of bark provide different colors of dye, from red to brown to orange. The inner bark has also been ground up and used as a soup thickener and the roots have been used to make baskets.
DISTRIBUTION IN THE U.S.
Alaska
,
California
,
Idaho
,
Montana
,
Oregon
,
Washington
HABITAT
There is no information available for this species
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