Alnus rhombifolia
| Alnus rhombifolia | |
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| Foliage and fruit | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Subgenus: | Alnus
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| Species: | A. rhombifolia
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| Binomial name | |
| Alnus rhombifolia | |
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| Natural range of Alnus rhombifolia | |
Alnus rhombifolia, the white alder, is an alder tree native to western North America, from British Columbia and Washington east to western Montana, southeast to the Sierra Nevada, and south through the Peninsular Ranges and Colorado Desert oases in Southern California.[1] It occurs in riparian zone habitats at an altitudes range of 100–2,400 metres (330–7,870 ft).[2][3] While not reported in northern Baja California, it has been predicted on the basis of its climatic adaptation to occur there also.[2] Alnus rhombifolia is primarily found in the chaparral and woodlands, montane, and temperate forests ecoregions.[1]
Description
Alnus rhombifolia is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–25 metres (49–82 ft) (rarely to 35 metres (115 ft)) tall, with pale gray bark, smooth on young trees, becoming scaly on old trees. The leaves are alternate, rhombic to narrow elliptic, 4–10 centimetres (1.6–3.9 in) long and 2–5 centimetres (0.79–1.97 in) cm broad, with a finely serrated margin and a rounded to acute apex; they are thinly hairy below.[4]
The flowers are produced in catkins. The male catkins are pendulous, slender,3–10 centimetres (1.2–3.9 in) long, yellowish, and produced in clusters of two to seven; pollination is in early spring, before the leaves emerge. The female catkins are ovoid, when mature in autumn 10–22 millimetres (0.39–0.87 in) long and 7–10 millimetres (0.28–0.39 in) broad, on a 1–10 millimetres (0.039–0.394 in) stem, superficially resembling a small conifer cone.[4] The small winged seeds disperse through the winter, leaving the old woody, blackish 'cones' on the tree for up to a year after.[1][2][5]
The white alder is closely related to the red alder (Alnus rubra), differing in the leaf margins being flat, not curled under. Like other alders, it is able to fix nitrogen, and tolerates infertile soils.[5]
Medicinal use
Some Plateau Indian tribes used white alder for female health treatment needs.[6]
References
- ^ a b c http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Alnus+rhombifolia . accessed 9/29/2010
- ^ a b c Flora of North America: Alnus rhombifolia
- ^ "Alnus rhombifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ a b http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-lifeform=any&rel-taxon=contains&where-taxon=Alnus+rhombifolia&rel-namesoup=matchphrase&where-namesoup=&rel-location=matchphrase&where-location=&rel-county=eq&where-county=any&rel-state=eq&where-state=any&rel-country=eq&where-country=any&where-collectn=any&rel-photographer=contains&where-photographer=&rel-kwid=equals&where-kwid=&max_rows=24 calphoto . accessed 9/29/2010
- ^ a b Oregon State University: Alnus rhombifolia
- ^ Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-Wana, "The Big River": Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land. University of Washington Press. p. 351. ISBN 0-295-97119-3.
External links
- Alnus
- Trees of the Northwestern United States
- Trees of the Southwestern United States
- Flora of California
- Flora of Oregon
- Flora of the Cascade Range
- Flora of the Klamath Mountains
- Flora of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.)
- Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
- Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
- Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
- Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges
- Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area
- Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains
- Natural history of the Transverse Ranges
- Trees of the Western United States
- Plants described in 1842
- Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
- Garden plants of North America
- Ornamental trees