832 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



GENUS I. 

 /f'LNDS Tourn. THE ALDER. Lin. Syst. Monce'cia Tetrandria- 



LEI 



Identification. Tourn., t. 359. ; Willd. Sp. PL, 4. p. 334. ; Hall. Hist., 2. p. 300. ; Ga 

 Synonymes. Setalfe species Lin. ; Aune, Fr. ; Erie, Ger. ; Ontano, Ital. ; Aliso, Sp 

 Derivation. From a, near, and Ian, the edge of a river, Celtic ; habitat: from the 



Gsertn., t. 90. 

 Span. 



he Hebrew, alon, 

 an oak : or, according to others, from alitur amne, it thrives by the river. 



Gen. Char. Barren flowers numerous, aggregate, in a loose cylindrical catkin. 

 Calyx a permanent wedge-shaped scale, 3-flowered, with two very minute lateral 

 scales. Corolla composed of three equal florets. Filaments 4, from the 

 tube of the corolla. Anthers of two round lobes. Fertile Jlowers fewer, 

 aggregate, in an oval firm catkin. Calyx a permanent wedge-shaped scale, 

 2-flowered. Corolla none. Styles 2. Stigma simple. Nut ovate, without 

 wings. (G. Don.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate, deciduous ; serrated or entire. Floivers 

 terminal, greenish white, appearing earlier than the foliage, in pendulous 

 catkins. Trees deciduous, natives of Europe and North America; rarely 

 exceeding the middle size, and some so low as to be considered shrubs. 



With the exception of A. glutinosa laciniata and A. cordifolia, the species 

 are not very ornamental ; nor is the timber of great value, except for the 

 charcoal which may be made from it. All the species prefer a moist soil, 

 or one in the vicinity of water. A. glutino.sa ripens seeds freely, as do most 

 of the other sorts ; but all the latter are generally propagated by layers. De- 

 caying leaves dark brown or black, and not very ornamental. 



1. A. GLUTINO V SA GfBi'tn, The glutinous, or common, Alder. 



Identification. Gaertn., 2 p. 54. ; Eng. Fl., 4. p. 131. ; Hook. Lond., t. 59.; Scot., 271. 

 Synonymes. 2?tulus ,4'lnus Lin. ; B. emarginata Ehrh. Arb. 9. ; yf'lnus Rail Syn. 442. ; Aune, 



Fr. ; gemeine Else, or Elser, or schwartz Erie, Ger. ; Elsenboom, Dutch ; Alno, or Ontano, 



Ital. ; Aliso, or Alamo nigro. Span. 

 Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1508.; Hunt. Evel. Syl., 240. f. ; the plate of this species in Arb. Brit., 



1st edit., vol. vii. ; and ourjjzg. J514. 



Spec. Char., $c. Leaves roundish, wedge-shaped, wavy, serrated, glutinous, 

 rather abrupt ; downy at the branching of the veins beneath. (Smith.) A 

 deciduous tree. Europe, from Lapland to Gibraltar ; and Asia, from the 

 White Sea to Mount Caucasus ; and also the North of Africa. Height 

 30 ft. to 60 ft. Flowers brownish ; March and April. Fruit brown ; ripe 

 in October. Decaying leaves brownish black, or almost black. 

 Varieties. 



. A. g. 2 emarginata Willd. Baum. p. 19. Leaves nearly round, 



wedge-shaped, and edged with light green. 

 If A. g. 3 laciniata Ait., Willd. 1. c., Lodd. 

 Cat. ed. 1836. A. g. incisa ffort. (The 

 plate of a fine tree at Syon, in Arb. Brit., 

 1st edit., vol vii. ; and our fig. 1512.) 

 Leaves oblong and pinnatifid, with the 

 lobes acute. Wild in the north of France, 

 particularly in Normandy, and in the woods 

 of Montmorency near Paris. 

 A. g. 4 quercifolia Willd. 1. c. Leaves 



sinuated, with the lobes obtuse. 

 A. g. 5 oxyacanthtsfblia. A. oxyacanthae- 

 folia Lodd. Cat. ed. 1836. (Our fig. 

 1513.) Leaves sinuated and lobed ; 

 smaller than those of the preceding va- ^ 

 riety, and somewhat resembling those of 

 the common hawthorn. IM2 . A . g . 



