76 



Bui,I,eTlN 145 



KEY TO VERMONT ALDERS 

 1. Flowers developed in earliest spring before the leaves, leaves 

 not sticky (glutinous). The common alders of the lower 

 altitudes 2 



1. Flowers developed in spring with the leaves, young leaves sticky 



(glutinous). Rare species of the mountains and cool banks. 



Green alders. 



2. Leaves whitish and mostly hairy or downy beneath. Usually 



pointed at the tip and rounded or cordate at the base. 



Hoary alder. 

 2. Leaves green both sides, usually smooth underneath rounded at 

 the tip and more or less wedge shaped at base. .Smooth alder. 



HOARY OR SPECKLED ALDER. Alnus iucafia (L.) Moench. 



This is the common alder of Vermont which borders every 

 stream and is the plague of the trout fisher. It often forms 

 dense shrubby thickets, while individual specimens may show the 

 habit of small trees twenty feet high. The leaf and cone-like 



fruit are well shown in the fig- 

 ure. The leaves often vary, and 

 a fungus may cause some of the 

 scales of the cones to develop 

 numerous curled, tongue-like 

 outgrowths, often an inch long. 

 Very little use is made of the 

 alder in Vermont, although 

 where large enough it makes 

 excellent fuel. Formerly the 

 charcoal burners used it, mak- 

 ing an unusually good product 

 from it. In Japan where it at- 

 tains a height of sixty feet or 

 more it furnishes valuable 

 wood. While at first thought 

 this would be rated a plant 

 of little or no value, it doubt- 

 less proves more serviceable 



Hoary Alder. 

 Leaf and fruit, X 



