Alnus incana : Gray Alder

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

• Tracheophyta (vascular)
• Spermatophyta (seed bearing)
Angiospermae (enclosed seed)

Class: Dicoteldonae (two seed-leaves)

Family: Betulaceae (Birch Family)

Genera: Alnus (Alders) (Ancient Latin name for Alder. Origin and meaning unknown.)

Species: incana (Lat. incana=quite gray.)

Synonym(s): A.tunuifolia, A.rugosa

English Name(s):

Gray Alder, River Alder, Speckled Alder, Hoary Alder

First Nation Names:

K'oh (Red Willow)

Structure:

• Plants are monoecious(bi-sexual).
• Medium to large shrub.
• Up to 5 meters tall.

Leaves:

• Alternate, simple (not compound, or lobed).
• Venation pinnate with secondary viens paired.
• 2.5-9cm long by 1.5-6.5cm wide.
• Margins double-serrulate (twice serrated).

Reproductive Parts:

• Flowers imperfect (single gendered) in catkins.
• Male flowers with 4 stamens.
• Catkins on short peduncles (stalks).
• Female catkins 9-15mm long by 8-10mm wide. 3-9 per cluster.

Seed:

• Fruit are numerous small single seeded nutlets.
• Fruiting catkins maturing hard, woody, cone-like and persistent (not falling off).
• Nutlets wingless, merely margined.

Not to Be Confused With:

• A.crispa which can be distinguished by its long peduncled (stalked) catkins and its serrulate (once serrated) leaves.

Physiology:

• Caution: Alnus pollen may cause hay fever, or bronchial asthma in some sesitive folk.
• Alders have nodules on thier roots that contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. When an alder rots, this nitrogen is added to the soil.
• These plants are wind pollenated. Thier pollen grains are so small (0.03mm) they can float long distances on a slight breeze.

Life Cycle:

• Long lived perennial.

Seasonal Cycle:

• Catkins appear before the leaves.
• leaves deciduous.
• Cones (fruiting catkins) reach maturity in August.

Animal Uses:

• The pollen is used by bees in spring for brood rearing.
• Bark is chewed by hares and beavers.
• In winter nutlets eaten by many song birds.
• Their buds and twigs make up an important part of the food of ptarmigan and grouse.

Habitat:

• Inducate presence of water.
• Common on riverbanks and lakeshores.

Modern:

Industrial:

• Wood burns very hot.
• Wood is soft and fine grained, stains well, developes a nice red tinge with age, used for carving,

Medicinal:

• An infusion of the bark is used as a gargle fortreating sore throat, poor circulation, diarrhea and eye problems.
• Bark (outer & inner) is astringent and powerfully bitter.
• Bark 3.5g boiled in 250ml vinegar is a good remedy for lice. This also makes an excellent mouth wash when diluted with equal parts water.
• Bark is dried and aged for several weeks, then powdered. 30ml powdered bark is mixed with 250ml brown apple cider and 5ml is taken 3 times a day to relieve constipation.
• Leaves applied directly to bare feet in shoes helps with blisters, burning and aching.
• Leaves are used to relieve inflammation.
• Leaves in decoction have been used to soak sore feet.

Food:

• Buds can be eaten.
• Inner-bark can be dried and ground into flour, or chewed as a survival food.

Traditional Gwich'in:

Folklore:

Industrial:

• Bark boiled makes a soluting used to dye hides, skins, snowshoe frames, and fish nets. Hides were soaked for about a day to dye them red.
• Inner bark was made into a pulp and rolled up in a wolverine or beaver skin to make it soft.
• Traditionally used just Alder wood for smoking fish.

Medicinal:

Food:

• Buds and green cones can be chewed and the juice swallowed. This is good juice and good for colds.

Traditional Other:

Folklore:

• Some Dena'ina say it should not be used for cooking meat because a red juice which looks like blood bubles out of it when it is burned.
• In Europe was considered a spirit-haunted tree, and when cut it may begin to , bleed, weep or even speak.

Industrial:

• Inner bark can be boiled to produce an orange dye on hides and a yellow dye on fabric.
• Wood was used in Europe for piles and posts in marshy areas and water troughs, as it was said to endure for long periods under water.
• Green wood with bark removed, is good for smoking meats and fish. It is said to impart a pleasent flavour to the food.

Medicinal:

• Bark decoctions were used to relieve cramps, diarrhea and vomiting, to aid circulation, sooth stomach ache, ease childbirth, stop bleeding, and also to treat eye problems.
• Leaves were moistened with warm milk and used as a poultice to relieve external swellings and inflammation or somtetimes used alone.
• Twig decoctions were drunk as a remedy for impure blood.

Food: