266 



The Alders 



at least when young; they are smooth on the upper surface and hairy on the veins 

 on the under side, 5 to 13 cm. long; the leaf-stalks are i to 2.5 cm. long; the 

 staminate catkins are 10 cm. long or less, flowering early in the spring before the 

 leaves unfold; the ripe pistillate catkins are ovoid-oblong, i to 2 cm. long; the nut 

 is wingless. 



Fig. 226. — European Alder, near Egbertville, Staten Island. 



The wood is soft and Ught brown, with a specific gravity of about 0.55, and is 

 used in Europe for woodenware, cooperage, and charcoal. The bark is also 

 used as a tan and dye. 



9. SEASIDE ALDER— AMus maritima (Marshall) Muhlenberg 

 Betula-Alnus maritima Marshall 



This interesting tree occurs along ponds and streams, mostly within tidal influ- 

 ence, in Maryland and Delaware, and grows also along the Red River in the Indian 

 Territory ; it is curiously absent, so far as is known, in the whole intervening territory. 

 It attains a maximum height of about 10 meters, with a trunk 10 to 13 cm. thick. 



