Nomenclature
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Plantae | Browse at kingdom-level |
|---|---|---|
| Order | Fagales Engl. | Browse at order-level |
| Family | Betulaceae Gray | Browse at family-level |
| Genus | Alnus Mill. | Browse at genus-level |
| Section | ||
| Species | Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. | Browse at species-level |
| Subspecies | ||
| Variety | ||
| Form | ||
| Cultivar | ||
| Strain |
Binomial synonyms
Common names
| Common name | Language |
|---|---|
| European alder | English |
| Black European alder | |
| Black alder | |
| Common alder | |
| Sticky alder | |
| Tervaleppä | Finnish |
| Aulne | French |
| Vergne | |
| Aliso | Spanish |
Genealogy
Genetics
| Chromosome pairs | 28 | |
|---|---|---|
| Parentage background | No parentage background information stored. | |
| Ploidy level | No ploidy level information stored. | |
| Species identifier DNA | No species identifier DNA information stored. | |
Subspecies
No known subspecies for this entry in the database.
Distribution
No distribution maps for this entry in the database.
Macromorphology
- Description
- A monoecious tree, 18–25m; somethimes a low multiple-stemmed bush, broadleaved, native to most of Europe. Leaves are spirally arranged, with caducous stipules. Catkins grow in terminal compound inflorescences, the lowermost branch with female catkins, the rest are generally with only male ones. The catkins are usually formed during the autumn before flowering. the whole male part of the compound inflorescence drops after anthesis. The fruits are released in late autumn or winter. Morphological variation may occur naturally due to isolation, small population size, different environmental conditions and hybridization between certain related (most often) species. For example, hybrids often have traits which are intermediate compared to their parental species. For example, Alnus glutinosa and A. incana may have hybridized in nature.
- Growth form
- Tree, shrub (sometimes)
- Organism part
-
- Bark
-
- Surface
- Smooth (young), fissured, rough (when older)
- Color
- Dark brown, almost black (old)
- Stems, twigs, branches
-
- Surface
- Glabrous (young), glutinous glands (young)
- Color
- Greenish brown (current year), reddish brown (current year)
- Shape
- Triangular (young), roundish
- Leaves, leaflets
-
- Surface
- Glabrous, glutinous (when young), sticky above (young), shiny (upper surface), tuft of hairs in the angles of the principal veins beneath
- Color
- Dark green (above), light green (below)
- Shape
- Orbicular, broadly obovate, elliptic, suborbicular
- Leaf division
- Simple
- Leaf apex
- Blunt, obtuse, truncate, shallowly emarginate (sometimes), emarginate
- Leaf base
- Broadly cuneate, rounded
- Leaf margins
- Doubly serrate, low rounded primary teeth, finely or coarsely serrate excep at the cuneate base
- Leaf stipules
- Ovate, lanceolate, glabrous
- Leaf permanence
- Deciduous
- Flowers, inflorescences
-
- Part type
- Male catkins 2-5 at the end of branch, female erect catkins (3-6 catkins in a usually down-curved raceme), female flower lack perianth
- Color
- Red-brown (male catkins), red to reddish-brown, becoming green in fruit (female catkins)
- Shape
- Slender, long, drooping, pendent at anthesis (male catkins), short, stiff at anthesis, later ovoid, scales persistent, finally cone-like (female catkins)
- Note
- Flowering starts before bud burst.
- Fruits
-
- Part type
- Nut, cone-like, stalked fruit clusters
- Surface
- Woody, scales
- Color
- Brown, blackening (after the fall of the nutlets)
- Shape
- Nearly round, ovoid (fruiting catkins), oval
- Note
- One-seeded fruit
- Spores, seeds
-
- Color
- Dark reddish-brown
- Shape
- Broadly obovate, ovate, flattened
- Note
- Resinous coat; average number of seed per catkin is 60
- Stem modifications, roots
-
- Note
- Nodules (with nitrogen-fixing actinomycetes); suckers are rare
Chemicals
Glutinoin
Pedunculagin
Praecoxin D
Images
Color swatches
This gallery showcases color samples measured from materials dyed with this organism. The materials were dyed
with organism parts or whole organism, and no chemical analyses of the colourants present have been performed.
Materials and mordants are reported where applicable. This gallery only showcases what colors one might be able
to achieve from dyeing with this organism.
References
-
T.
Houston Durrant,
D.
de Rigo,
and
G.
Caudullo,
Alnus glutinosa in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats. In: San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., de Rigo, D., Caudullo, G., Houston Durrant, T., Mauri, A. (Eds.), European Atlas of Forest Tree Species. . Publication Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. pp., 2016 , DOI: 10.2760/776635 -
R.
Tirri,
J.
Lehtonen,
R.
Lemmetyinen,
*.
Pihakaski,
and
P.
Portin,
Biologian sanakirja. Dictionary of biology. . Otavan Kirjapaino Oy, 2001 - D. McVean, "Biological flora of the British Isles. Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn," Journal of Ecology. British Ecological Society. , vol. 41 , no. 2 , pp. 447–466 , DOI: 10.2307/2257070 .
-
A.
Kurtto,
R.
Lampinen,
M.
Piirainen,
and
P.
Uotila,
Checklist of the vascular plants of Finland. Suomen putkilokasvien luettelo. Helsinki. . Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS, 2019 -
B.
Jonsell,
Flora Nordica. Volume 1. Lycopodiaceae to Polygonaceae. . The Bergius Foundation. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Stockholm. Sweden-, 2000 - "Flora of North America. Alnus glutinosa. Distribution map.," 2020 . [Online]. Available: http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=5474&flora_id=1 . [Accessed Feb. 12, 2020].
- G. Jurkšienė, S. Tamošaitis, D. Kavaliauskas, J. Buchovska, D. Danusevičius, and V. Baliuckas, "Identification of Alnus glutinosa L. and A. incana (L.) Moench. hybrids in natural forests using nuclear DNA microsatellite and morphometric markers.," Forests , vol. 12 , no. 11 , pp. 1504 , DOI: 10.3390/f12111504 .
-
D.
Cardon,
Natural dyes. Sources, tradition, technology and science. . Archetype Publications Ltd, 2007 -
L.
Hämet-Ahti,
A.
Palmén,
P.
Alanko,
and
P.
Tigerstedt,
Suomen puu- ja pensaskasvio. Woody Flora of Finland. Helsinki. . Dendrologian Seura r. y., 1992 - M. Piirainen, "Tervaleppä – Alnus glutinosa Ks. Notes," 2020 . [Online]. Available: https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38008 . [Accessed Jan. 24, 2020].
-
E.
Räty,
Viljelykasvien nimistö. Puutarhaliiton julkaisuja nro 376. Helsinki. . Puutarhaliitto, 2017