Cool Creek Seedlings
Speckled Alder (Alnus rugosa)
Description
Latin: Alnus rugosa
Zones: 3 - 6
Other common names: tag alder
Mature Height/spread:15- 25 ft. high/ 15-25' spread
Soil / Climate: Likes moist soils. It is found in northeastern parts of the United States and the Great Lakes region, and in much of Canada. Alder grows in moist soils, along stream banks and wet meadows usually forming clumps or thickets. Full sun/partial shade.
Notes: The Speckled Alder is sometimes used for afforestation on non-fertile soils which it enriches by means of nitrogen fixing bacteria in its root nodules. The leaves are oval, two - four inches long and alternately arranged. Edges of leaves are double-toothed. Male flowers display as dangling yellow-red catkins while female flowers are egg-shaped, small and pink. Fruit are cone shaped.
Wildlife: Turkey, ruffed grouse, bobwhite, pheasant, woodcock are some of the birds that feed on the seed and some of the larger mammals (deer, rabbits, muskrats) feed on its twigs.