A L N 



ALMANAC, col. 2, 1. 15, add, fee Stamp. 



ALMUDE, in Commerce, a liquid meafurc in Portugal, 

 &c. ( See TaWf XXXII. 0/ Measures. ) At Lilbon, wine 

 and oil are fold by the pipe of 26 almudes ; but the pipe of 

 Lilbon wine fent to England contains about 31 almudes, 

 and the ftandard gauge at the London Cuftom-houfe ij 140 

 gallons ; the Lilbon almude is therefore reckoned at 4^ 

 Engliih gallons. At Oporto, the pipe is divided into 2t 

 almudes, which almude and its fubdivifious are 49J per cent. 

 greater than thofe of Lifbon ; fo that tlie ilaiidard gauge of 

 a pipe of port at the Cuftom-houfe of London is 138 gallons, 

 fo that the almude of Oporto is accordingly equal to fix 

 Enghfh jrallons and five pints nearly. 



ALNUS, in Botany, the Alder, an ancient Latin name, 

 which De Theis derives from the Celtic, al, near, and Ian, 

 the brink of a river, the letters having become tranfpofed for 

 eafy pronunciation. This is fuitable enough to the tree in 

 queftion, which always grows near water, even oij the loftieft 

 mountains, nor have vre met with a better etymology. — 

 Willd. Sp. PI. V. 4. 334. Sm. Compend. 133. Prodr. Fl. 

 GrsBC. Sibth. v. 2. 232. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 5, 258. 

 Purfh 622. Rail Syn. 442. Tourn. t. 359. Goertn. t. 90. 

 (Betula, as to the charafter ; Linn. Gen. 485. Sm. FI. 

 Brit. loii. Engl. Bot. 1508. Lamarck lUuttr. t. 760. 

 f. 3. See Betula.) — Clafs and order, MonoectaTetrandria. 

 Nat. Ord. Amentacee, Linn. JufT. 



Gen. Ch. Male, Cal. Catkin cylindrical, imbricated 

 every way, lax, compofed of wedge-fliaped, three-flowered, 

 abrupt, three-cleft fcales. Cor. compound, of three equal, 

 tubular, four-cleft florets, feffile on the difli of each fcale ; 

 their fegments deep, equal, ovate, obtufe, fpreading. Sicm. 

 Filaments four, minute, inferted into the bafe of each feg- 

 ment, and not quite fo long as the fegment ; anthers of two 

 round lobes. 



Female, on the fame plant, Cal. Catkin elliptical, imbri- 

 cated, clofe, confifting of two-flowered, roimded, pointed, 

 obfcurely three-cleft, concave fcales. Cor. none. P'Ji. 

 Germens two to each fcale, ovate, minute, deprefled ; ftylcs 

 two to each germen, tapering, rather longer than the fcale ; 

 ftigmas fimple. Seed. Nut naked, compreffed, of two cells, 

 with folitary kernels. 



Eff. Ch. Male, Calyx the fcale of a catkin, of one leaf, 

 three -cleft, three-flowered. Corolla deeply four-cleft. 



Female, Cslyx the fcale of a catkin, of one leaf, obfcurely 

 three-cleft, two-flowered. Styles two. Nut comprefled. 



The prefence of' a corolla in the male flowers, with a de- 

 terminate number oi Jlamens equal to that of its fegments, 

 are fufficient marks of generic diftinftion between this ger.us 

 and Betula^ which has no corolla in either flower, and whofe 

 Jlamens are numerous, and indefinite. The fertile catlin more- 

 over is elliptical in Alnus, cylindrical in Betula. Gaertner finds 

 differences in Xhe feed, which, if the germen be attended to, 

 appear to us lefs decifive. By an accidental overfight,y//).M 

 was neglefted to be feparated from Betula, in our Plants 

 OP Britain ; fee that article. 



r. A. gluttnofa. Common Alder. Gaertn. v. 2. 54. 

 Willd. n. J. Ait. n. i. Sm. Compend. n. i. Purfn n. 1. 

 (AInus ; Matth. Valgr. v. i. 127. Camer. Epit. 68. Lob. 

 Ic. V. 2. 191. Ger. Em. 1477. Lcef. Pruff. 10. t. 1. A. 

 n. 1630 ; HaU. Hift. v. 2. 300.) 



(S, incifa ; leaves roundifh, notched. JVilld. 



7, laciniata ; leaves oblong, pinnatifid, with acute feg- 

 ments. IVilld. Ait. /S. 



J, quercifolia ; leaves oblong, finuated, with obtufe feg- 

 ments. Willd. 



Leaves roundifli-wedgefhaped, obtufe, wavy, glutinous ; 

 downy at the branching of the veins beneath. — Native of 



A L N 



fwamps and the neighbourhood of rivers and pools, in lov/ 

 lands, as well as on mountains, throughout Europe, the 

 north of Afia, and of Africa, as alfo in Canada and on the 

 north -weft coail of America, [Pur/h,) flowering in March 

 or April. In landfcape this tree often fupplies the want of 

 the rich dark foliage of the Oak, where the latter will not 

 thrive. The leaves are not fully expanded till the end of 

 May, but they remain late in autumn. For the ufes and 

 further hiftory of this tree, fee Betula, n. 6. Our y is 

 the only variety cultivated for ornament, or rather curiofity, 

 in England. 



2. A. oblongata. Turkey Alder. Willd. n. 2. Ait. 

 n. 2. (A. folio oblongo viridi ; Bauh. Pin. 428. Hort. 

 Angl. 5. Betula oblongata; Ait. ed. i. v. 3. 338.) — 

 Leaves elliptical, bluntifh, glutinous ; the branching of the 

 veins naked beneath. — Native of the fouth of Europe. Cul- 

 tivated in England ever fince the year 1730, at leaft, but 

 not much in requeft. The leaves are fmaller than the fore- 

 going, obovate, or eUiptic-oblong, ftiarply ferrated. Catkins 

 oi feeds nearly globular. 



3. A. incana. Hoary Alder. Willd. n. 3. Ait. n. 3. 

 (Alnus ; Linn. Fl. Lapp. ed. I. 260. A. folio incano ; 

 Bauh. Pin. 428. A. hirfuta ; Bauh. Matth. 133. A. altera; 

 Cluf. Hift. V. I. 12. A. n. 163 1 ; Hall. Hift. v. 2. 301. 

 Betula incans ; Linn. Suppl. 417. Ait. ed. i. v. 3. 339. 

 Ehrh. Arb. 116. Bdtr. v. 3. 22. Willd. Arb. 45. B. 

 Alnus /3 ; Linn. Sp. PI. 1394.) 



jS, angulata ; leaves green beneath, with green footftalks. 

 Ait. 



y, pinnsta ; leaves pinnate, hairy beneath ; young branches 

 hairy. Willd. 



( Betula pinnata ; " Lundmark in Stockh. Tranf. for 

 1790, 122. t. 5.") — Leaves elliptic -oblong, acute ; downy 

 beneath ; the branching of the veins naked. Stipulas 

 lanceolate. — Native of marfties and the banks of rivers 

 throughout Lapland. Linnicus. It occurs alfo in alpine 

 fituations, in Germany, Sv.-itzerland, &c. The variety y, of 

 which we have fpecimens from Dr. Swartz, has been met 

 with in one part of Sweden only, Waermland, and is iii- 

 creafed by root only. The leaves are fmall, pinnate, and 

 jagged. The ufual appearance of A. incana, except its 

 hoarinefs, and the glaucous hue of the back of its leaves, is 

 not very unlike A. glntinofa. The leaves however are more 

 acute, and their footjlalks are reddifli. This laft charafter, 

 as well as the glaucous hue jull mentioned, is wanting in 

 variety |S. The general pubefccnce of the under fide of the 

 leaves renders it difficult to fay how far the veins differ at 

 their origin from thofe of the Common Alder, but though 

 downy, they certainly want the glandular roughnefs fo 

 remarkable in that fpecies. See Betula, n. 7, for a fur- 

 ther account of this tree. 



4. A. undulata. Curl-leaved Alder. Willd. n. 4. Ait. 

 n. 4. (A. crifpa ; Purfh n. 2. Betula crifpa ; Ait. ed. i. 

 V. 3. 339. Michaux Boreal. -Amer. v. 2. 181.) — " Leaves 

 oblong, acute ; rounded at the bafe ; veins hairy beneath, 

 like the footftalks, but naked at their origin. Stipulas 

 ovate-oblong."— In Canada, and on tiie high mountains of 

 Pennfylvania, in fwamps overrun with Bog-mofs, flowering 

 in April, h. Jhrub, not above three or four feet high. 

 Leaves doubly fenated. Purjb. See Betula n. 13. Will- 

 denow feems to have unwarrantably clianged the name of 

 this fpecies. 



5. A. ferrulata. Hafel Alder. Willd. n. 5. Ait. n. 5. 

 Purfli n. 3. (Betula ferrulata; Ait. ed. i. v. 3. 338. Mi- 

 chaux Boreal. -Am.er. v. i. 181. Willd. Arb. 45. Smith 

 Inf. of Georgia v. 2. 183. t. 92. B. rugofa ; Ehrh. Beitr. 

 V. 3. 21. " Wangenh. Amer. 86. t. 29. f. 60.") — Leaves 



obovate, 



