SEASIDE ALDER (Alnus maritima, Nutt.). Shrub to 30 feet. 

 Round-topped tree, with small, spreading branches, angu- 

 lar, ending in hairy, greenish twigs. Oftener a shrub of 

 many stems. Bark thin, smooth, light brown. Wood soft, 

 brown, close-grained. Leaves oblong, 3 to 4 inches long, 

 edges finely toothed, dark, shining green above, paler and 

 dull beneath. Flowers autumnal, monoecious; staminate 

 catkins clustered, yellow, 1 to 2 inches long; pistillate ovate, 

 | inch long. Fruit woody, oval cone, parting scales to free the 

 pointed seeds. Dist.: Eastern Delaware and Maryland; also 

 Oklahoma 



71 



