Alder

For other uses, see Alder (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the unrelated plants witch alder, dwarf alder, and elder.

Alder
Temporal range: Paleocene–Recent
Common alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Betulaceae
Subfamily: Betuloideae
Genus: Alnus
Mill.
Type species
Alnus glutinosa
(L.) Gaertn.
Synonyms[1]
Genus synonyms
  • Betula-alnus Marshall
  • Duschekia Opiz
  • Alnaster Spach
  • Clethropsis Spach
  • Semidopsis Zumagl.
  • Alnobetula (W.D.J.Koch) Schur.
  • Cremastogyne (H.J.P.Winkl.) Czerep.
Female alder catkins after shedding their seeds
Alnus serrulata male catkins

Alders are trees that compose the genus Alnus in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species[2] of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species extending into Central America, as well as the northern and southern Andes.[1]

  1. ^ a b "World Checklist of Selected Plant Families: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew". apps.kew.org.
  2. ^ Arno, Stephen F.; Hammerly, Ramona P. (2020) [1977]. Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees (field guide ed.). Seattle: Mountaineers Books. pp. 208–215. ISBN 978-1-68051-329-5. OCLC 1141235469.