264 



The Alders 



dark green and either smooth or quite hairy on the upper side, paler and more 

 or less hairy beneath ; the ovate caducous stipules are about 7 mm. long. The tree 

 flowers in December or Januar}'; the staminate catkins are then bright yellow and 

 1.5 dm. long or less, each flower usually having 2 stamens, rarely i, or 3. The 

 ripe pistillate catkins are oblong, 1.5 to 2 cm. long, their scales a Httle thickened 

 and somewhat lobed at the apex; the nut is oval, about 2.5 mm. long, narrowly 

 margined. 



The weak and brittle wood is of Httle value; it is light brown with a specific 

 gravity of about 0.40. 



6. OBLONG-LEAVED ALDER Alnus oblongifolia Torrey 



An inhabitant of canons, the Oblong-leaved alder is a tree 10 meters high or 

 less, with a trunk 1.5 to 2.5 dm, in thickness; it occurs in Arizona, New Mexico, 



and northern Mexico. By some authors 

 it has been supposed to be identical with 

 A. acuminata H. B. K., of Peru and 

 Bolivia, which extends northward along 

 the Andes, reaching southern Mexico, 

 and has ovate leaves. 



The bark of the Oblong-leaved alder 

 is thin and light brown. The young 

 twigs are slightly hairy, but soon become 

 smooth, shining, and red to gray. The 

 buds are pointed, smooth, and 10 to 15 

 mm. long. The leaves are oblong or ob- 

 long-lanceolate, or some of them ovate- 

 oblong, pointed or blunt, rather firm in 

 texture, and 5 to 10 cm. long when fully 

 grown, irregularly sharply toothed, nar- 

 rowed or wedge-shaped at the base; the 

 upper surface is smooth and rather dark 

 green, the lower somewhat lighter green and hairy, at least along the veins; the 

 leaf-stalks are hairy, yellow, i to 2 cm. long; the small stipules are ovate-lanceo- 

 late. The staminate catkins are 9 cm. long or less; the flowers open in December 

 or January; there are usually 2 stamens, considerably longer than the calyx, or 

 sometimes 3. The ripe pistillate catkins are oblong, i to 1.5 cm. long, with rather 

 thin scales; the nut is about 2 mm. long and narrowly margined. 



Fig. 223. Oblong-leaved Alder. 



7. NEW YORK ALDER Alnus noveboracensis Britton 



The New York alder inhabits wet woodlands and thickets near the coast in 

 southeastern New York, and probably occurs also both north and south of that 



