''Alnus formosana'', the Formosan alder, is a species of

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is a medium-sized tree, up to in height and in trunk diameter.

Description

The formosan alder is a trees up to 20 meters in height with dark gray-brown bark. The petiole is 1.2-2.2 cm, slender; leaves elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, rarely ovate-oblong, 6-12 × 2–5 cm, hairy in the axils of lateral veins beneath, almost hairless above, rounded or broadly cuneate base, irregularly minutely serrated margin, acuminate or acute apex; lateral veins 6 or 7 on each side of the midrib. It has one female inflorescence, or 2-4 in a cluster, ellipsoid, 1-2.5 cm; peduncle 3–5 mm.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in Taiwan. It is a common species growing on riverbanks from near sea level to . It is commonly found in disturbed habitats as a

pioneer species Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire. Pioneer flora Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so m ...

Ecology

''Alnus formosana'' flowers between May–June, fruiting between July–September.

Uses

This tree is used for soil improvement. It also finds use in gardens and as a windbreak. The tree trunks is also used in paper pulping and cultivating snow fungus and

shiitake The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a Medicinal fungi, medicinal mushroom in some forms of tradition ...

. The

Atayal people The Atayal (), also known as the Tayal and the Tayan, are a Taiwanese indigenous people. The Atayal people number around 90,000, approximately 15.9% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the third-largest indigenous group. The pre ...

uses ''A. formosana'' as a cover crop after clearing a new field, the traditional wisdom being that the soil becomes rich when it is cut cleared again in 10 to 15 years. It is also used in the

Pas-ta'ai Pas-ta'ai ( Chinese: 矮靈祭; pinyin: ''Ǎilíngjì''), the “Ritual to the Spirits of the Short eople��, is a ritual of the Saisiyat people, a Taiwanese aboriginal group. The ritual commemorates the ''Ta'ai'', a tribe of short dark-skinned ...

ritual of the

Saisiyat people The Saisiyat (; Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''賽夏族(Sòi-hà-tshu̍k)''), also spelled Saisiat, are an indigenous people of Taiwan. In 2000 the Saisiyat numbered 5,311, which was approximately 1.3% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making t ...

. Early Han settlers of Taiwan name some places after the occurrence of the plant, the belief being that its occurrence is linked to ground collapse.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3926595 formosana Endemic flora of Taiwan Trees of Taiwan Plants described in 1899