E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of BC

Alnus alnobetula (Ehrh.) K.Koch
green alder
Betulaceae (Birch family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

General:
Deciduous shrub or tree, 1-5 m tall; pointed axillary buds without stalks; bark scaly, sometimes lichen-covered, yellowish-brown or grey.

Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, smooth, finely toothed 1-2 times, oval with pointed tips, 4-10 cm long, brownish in the fall.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of male and female catkins which open at the same time as the leaves on current year's growth; male catkins unstalked.

Fruits:
Small nutlets, with broad wings; female cones 1.5-2 cm long, egg-shaped.

Notes:
Three subspecies occur in BC.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Scientific Name	Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Alnus alnobetula ssp. crispa	Native	S4	Yellow	Not Listed
Alnus alnobetula ssp. fruticosa	Native	S5?	Yellow	Not Listed
Alnus alnobetula ssp. sinuata	Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

1. Leaves finely once or twice saw-toothed; axillary buds unstalked, pointed; male catkins unstalked; stalks as long as or longer than the conelike sillicles..........................A. viridis

1. Leaves coarsely to irregularly round-toothed; axillary buds pedunculate, blunt or short-pointed; male catkins stalked; stalks shorter than the conelike silicles

2. Leaf margins rolled under; nutlets with narrow-winged margins.......................................A. rubra

2. Leaf margins not rolled under; nutlets wingless..................................A. incana

Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Volume 2

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