The
Red Alder is also known as Western Alder,
Oregon Alder
The
name red alder comes from the fact that the
inner bark turns orange-red when exposed to
air
UNIQUE
FEATURES:
In
the forest, the Red Alder develops a slightly
tapered trunk with a narrow, rounded crown,
in the open it has a broad cone shape with
the crown starting near the trunk
Red
Alder is
BC's most important hardwood
While
all other alders are only shrubs, the red
alder is a large coastal tree
Red
Alder puts nitrogen back into the soil
Red
Alder is fast growing but only lives 40 to
60 years
LOCATION:
Red
Alder is found on the entire coast of BC
Red
Alder needs lots of sunshine
Prefers
areas of recent disturbance
nutrient
rich areas including floodplains, marshes
and streambanks
Red
Alder grows under 500 ft
SIZE:
Red
Alder is medium sized, up to 24 metres in
height
can
be shrub-like in poor locations
FRUIT:
small
(2 cm), woody, brown, oval shaped cones (female)
narrow
winged seed
FLOWERS:
long
(10 to 15 cm), drooping, reddish catkins (male)
LEAVES:
oval
shaped, pointed tips, toothed edges
bright
green with a greyish underside
edges
often rolled under
BARK:
thin,
greenish when young
becoming
grey or whitish and slightly ridged with age
rough
on the lower part of the trunk
when
exposed to air, the inner bark turns reddish-orange
WOOD
CHARACTERISTICS:
fine
grained
USES:
modern
- furniture, flooring, firewood
traditional
- bark: dying basket material, fish nets,
wood, wool, feathers as well as human hair
and skin (colours ranged from black and brown
to orangey-red; inner bark sometimes used
for food; wood: carving bowls, spoons and
platters, smoking meat, firewood
