BROADLEAVED TREES OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 



13 



Photo by Brorkman 



Bark of mature alder 



before the opening of the leaves. At 

 that time they are from four to six 

 inches in length. The latter first ap- 

 pear as small green affairs contained 

 in loose clusters of three to four in 

 number, later enlarging to oblong 

 compact, green "cones." At that time 

 they are about one-half inch in 

 length. The white alder is a prolific 

 seed producer. The seeds, contained 

 between the scales of the strobiles, 

 are mature by midsummer but are 

 not liberated until the following win- 

 ter, or even spring. At that tims th") 

 "cones" are hard, woody, and black. 

 After liberating the seeds they often 

 litter the ground below the trees or 



remain hanging from the branches 

 for a considerable time, thus furnish- 

 ing a ready clue to the identity of the 

 white alder throughout most of the 

 year. 



Newly produced twigs are smooth, 

 chestnut-brown in color, more or less 

 triangular in cross section, and char- 

 acterized by widely separated, elon- 

 gated specks. The crown is broad 

 and open with long branches, droop- 

 ing toward their ends, extending from 

 the trunk. 



One of the best characters for win- 

 ter identification of the white alder 

 are the large buds. They are pro- 

 duced alternately on the twigs, and 

 like all alders, are stalked. No other 

 broad-leaved tree in Yosemite Na- 

 tional Park has stalked buds. In ad- 

 dition to this distinctive feature, the 

 buds are dark brown to dull red in 

 color, are coated with a light colored 

 fuzz, and the scales, instead of being 

 numerous and overlapping, are only 

 two or three in number and valvate 

 in character. The leaf scars, some- 

 what raised and half round in out- 

 line, are characterized by three 

 vascular bundle scars. 



It is a tree of rapid growth, and 

 because it can endure considerable 

 competition, often forms dense thick- 

 ets. It is not a long-lived species and 

 soon attains a maximum diameter of 

 12 to 15 inches and a height of about 

 50 feet. Trees of maximum size ore 

 rarely over fifty years of age. 



