''Alnus cordata'', the Italian alder,Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> is a tree or shrub species belonging to the family Betulaceae, and native to the southern

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

( Campania,

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and

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, mainly on western mountain sides) and the north-eastern mountains of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. It has been introduced in Sicily, Sardinia, and more recently in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

, other European countries ( France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom) and extra-European countries ( Chile, New Zealand), where it has become naturalised.

Description

It is a medium-sized tree growing up to tall (exceptionally to ), with a trunk up to in diameter. The leaves are deciduous but with a very long season in leaf, from April to December in the Northern Hemisphere; they are alternate, cordate (heart-shaped), rich glossy green, long, with a finely serrated margin. The slender cylindrical male

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated (anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in ''Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged cl ...

s are pendulous, reddish and up to long; pollination is in early spring, before the leaves emerge. The female catkins are ovoid, when mature in autumn long and broad, dark green to brown, hard, woody, and superficially similar to some conifer cones. The small winged seeds disperse through the winter, leaving the old woody, blackish 'cones' on the tree for up to a year after.

Cultivation

Like other alders, it is able to improve soil fertility through symbiotic nitrogen fixation with the bacteria ''Actinomyces alni'' ('' Frankia alni''). It thrives on much drier soils than most other alders, and grows rapidly even under very unfavourable circumstances, which renders it extremely valuable for landscape planting on difficult sites such as mining spoil heaps and heavily compacted urban sites. It is commonly grown as a windbreak. ''Alnus cordata'' has gained The Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Bonsai

The Italian Alder makes a medium to large

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

, a quick grower it responds well to pruning with branches ramifying well and leaf size reducing quite rapidly.

Other uses

The tree also produces valuable reddish-orange wood. It breaks down rapidly when exposed to air, but is durable when immersed in water. The timber is used for turning and carving, for moulding, furniture, panelling and plywood. ItalAlder.jpg, Foliage and immature male catkins ItalAlderFruit.jpg, Female (seed) catkins

References

External links

''Alnus cordata''
- distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) {{Taxonbar, from=Q1543689 cordata Trees of Europe Flora of Albania Flora of Corsica Flora of Sardinia Flora of Sicily Plants described in 1810 Garden plants of Europe Plants used in bonsai Ornamental trees