Does the alder have fruit. Alder - the tree of the soul

In general, alder is not particularly decorative, it is an ordinary deciduous tree, and even in autumn its leaves do not turn bright yellow, like other trees. They begin to blacken and fall off, as if struck by some incomprehensible disease. Not in vain in Ancient Greece alder was considered a mournful tree. At the same time, Slavic magicians attributed to her the properties of a talisman that protects the garden and garden from hail, and people from damage.

Pictured is an alder tree

Types of alder and their features

Currently, there are about 30 species of alder growing in the Northern Hemisphere. These are moisture-loving shrubs or trees growing near water. Unfortunately, such a neighborhood does not benefit them - alder does not differ in durability, like oak or birch, on average it lives 50-60-70 years. However, it can be planted in waterlogged areas with stagnant water, for the design of natural or artificial reservoirs, in parks with high groundwater. Here the tree grows very quickly, and until late autumn it retains the green color of the leaves, and during the season it evaporates up to 10 cubic meters of water.

Shrub alder reaches 3 meters in height, sometimes it can rise up to 5 meters. Her bark is gray, but the shoots are red or brown, the leaves are about 10 cm long, shiny, with jagged edges, oval, up to 10 cm long, dark green. Leaves and flowers on the alder appear at the same time.

Shrub alder grows quite quickly, it can be planted in shady or semi-shaded places. It is unpretentious to soils, but loves moisture. It tolerates severe frosts well.

Gray alder is a tree or shrub up to 20 meters high, with a narrow crown. The bark is light gray, smooth, the shoots are pubescent, not sticky. The leaves are pointed, two-colored - gray below, and dark green above. Newly appeared, young leaves are pubescent, grayish.

It grows in swampy areas, is undemanding to soils, and can successfully develop on loam. It is used to strengthen the shores of natural reservoirs. Life expectancy is about 60 years.

AT North America a decorative form of gray alder grows - with bluish leaves. This is a shrub, or low, about 6 meters, tree. The leaves are bare, bluish-blue, pubescent below.

In the forests of the North American continent, golden alder with yellowish leaves on red shoots also grows.

In Russia on Far East woolly alder is found, growing in the form of a shrub or tree up to 10 meters high.

Alder sticky, black, grows both in Russia and in Western Europe, and even in North Africa. This is a slender tree up to 36 meters high, with a pyramidal crown and a brown trunk. Shoots are sticky, reddish, covered with light scales. Leaves up to 9 cm long, obovate, rounded, also sticky and shiny. In autumn they do not turn yellow, fall green or slightly brown. Flowers on sticky alder appear before the leaves, after they fall, ovoid cones up to 2 centimeters long remain on the tree, which serve as an ornament to the tree.

Sticky alder grows quickly, but not on any soil. There are several decorative forms of this type of alder, which differ in the color and shape of the leaves, as well as in the structure of the crown.

Agricultural technology

For planting, an alder seedling can be found in the forest, or purchased at a tree nursery. Planting a seedling is not much different from planting seedlings of fruit and other trees. You will need a hole, deeper and wider than the size of the roots with a root clod of earth, in water poured into it, 1 bucket per hole is enough. Special fertilizers are not required, its roots are able to independently produce nitrogen and enrich the soil. Actually, nitrogen is produced not by roots, but by tubers, in which bacteria are located - they pull nitrogen from the air into the soil. But nitrogen alone is not enough for a tree; 200 grams of slaked lime and 15 grams of Kemira-universal fertilizer are added to the hole.

The seedling installed in the hole is sprinkled first with soil removed from the upper, fertile layer, and then with a mixture of peat, sand and earth, after which it is watered again. Planting is best done in spring, as well as in autumn, without leaves. The stems of the seedling are cut to a height of 50-70 cm - before planting, or immediately after it, so it will not waste energy on the development of the aerial part, and will begin to strengthen the root system.

During spring planting, the seedling is often watered for the first time, of course, if it does not grow in a wetland. With age, the tree grows stronger, the root system becomes more extended, and provides the tree with moisture without additional watering.

Loosening the soil at the roots can be called a mandatory measure, without it the soil will become too hard and dense, the roots will not be able to fully breathe.

Protection

Alder, like a tree growing in a humid environment, is often affected by fungal diseases. Earrings are especially affected, in which scales grow unnaturally. Some fungi cause spots on the leaves - they wrinkle and crumble.

Of the pests, the alder is afraid of the corrosive woodworm, which lays its larvae under the bark. As a result, the larvae spoil both young shoots and the bark itself.

To protect the alder, it is treated with fungicides, poisons, or folk remedies. Affected branches are cut and burned.

reproduction

Alder is propagated by root layers, as well as seeds. It should be noted that in nature, alder spreads without any problems thanks to well-adapted seeds.

Alder is a monoecious plant, male catkins and female cones grow on the same branch. The catkin inflorescences produce pollen that is dispersed by insects and wind to pollinate the buds.

The cones overwinter on the branches, and the next spring open, releasing small seeds. They are carried by the wind, or flood waters. Where the seeds will land on the shore, and where they will have to catch on and germinate, is unknown, often this happens several kilometers from the parent tree.

In cultivation, alder cones are harvested in autumn to collect seeds, dried, and waited for them to open. Then the seeds are selected, sifting all the material through a sieve with holes no larger than 4-5 mm.

Seeds are sown in containers or open ground, but sometimes they are stored until spring, keeping in a room with a temperature of 1 to 5 degrees Celsius, and air humidity not higher than 10-12%. Under such conditions, the seeds will germinate for 1-2 years. With autumn sowing, seedlings appear in the spring, with spring sowing - also in spring, but a year later.

Root cuttings for planting in a new place are dug up, cut to a height of 50-70 cm, and planted in a pre-prepared hole (how to do this is written above), over the season, shoots up to 1 meter high will grow from the cut stem.

Where is alder used?

By growing alder in your area, you can use it to make medicines. Traditional medicine uses bark, cones and leaves of alder to heal purulent wounds, treat eczema, dysentery, hemorrhoids, diathesis.

Alder firewood is suitable for smoking fish and meat, cooking kebabs and grilling - wood does not spoil the taste of food.

Alder wood is not particularly durable, but it has a uniform structure that does not change when dried. Therefore, musical instruments, dishes, panels, figurines, decorative furniture are made from it.

Alder boards are installed in wells, used for the manufacture of barrels, and various products that serve in conditions with high humidity.

Another advantage of the tree is that dry alder firewood burns well, highlighting a large number of heat.

Every year, many plants rush to announce the onset of spring. Alder can also give a good hint to summer residents. A photo of this tree allows everyone to understand how beautiful it can look at this time of the year. Alder is decorated with smooth bark, and its rounded leaves retain their green color until the first frost.

Alder tree: description

This tree has very lush crown, however, it is still somewhat sparse due to the fact that the branches are unevenly spaced. When the snow has not melted everywhere yet, the alder is already signaling the onset of spring, which is manifested in its active flowering. Therefore, it is enough to know when the alder blossoms in order to understand that winter begins to lose its strength.

Moreover, winds help her to get ahead of many other plants by entering the flowering phase, thanks to which her pollination occurs.

When the alder begins to bloom, it is decorated with beautiful earrings, which are divided into women's and men's. If during the formation they look habitually green, then at the ripening stage they become red-brown.

Women's earrings quite small and reach a length of about 1 cm, hang on branches in groups of up to 8 pieces, a sign of their ripeness is the acquisition of a woody shell. Men's earrings in this regard have their own differences: they grow on branches of 4-5 pieces, they differ quite a bit. large sizes, having a length of 5-9 cm. The appearance of leaves occurs only after the end of flowering of the alder.

The fruits are small green cones. Moreover, the latter also differ from each other: some grow wingless, others are membranous or leathery. Throughout the winter, the cones are in a closed state, but already with the onset of March they open, as a result of which the seeds fall into the soil. They reach the ripening stage only at the end of autumn. Alder leaves are a very useful fertilizer, because they contain a lot of nitrogen.

Alder as part of the natural complex

On average these trees grow for about 100 years. Although there are also centenarians who can please with their appearance for 150 years. Their favorite places of growth are areas with wet soil. Therefore, alder can often be found on the banks of various reservoirs.

With a combination of favorable factors, thickets - alder forests - can form. AT northern regions alder grows in the form coniferous tree. In the south, it has an extremely small representation, which is why it is part of mixed forests along with oak and beech. Also, this tree feels great with other representatives of forests - birch, spruce, oak, linden and aspen.

Alder can be used not only for decorative purposes, but also interesting as a honey plant. During its development, it forms buds and leaves rich in resinous substances, which are used by bees as a raw material for the production of propolis.

You can also find use for dry alder leaves, because they can be used as livestock feed.

Black alder: deciduous tree

Although this tree includes many species, the most common among them is the black alder, which is so named because of the corresponding color of its bark. This tree is mentioned in Greek mythology, where she often appears at fire festivals, symbolizing the onset of spring. Alder is a photophilous plant It is also very responsive to moisture. If it is planted in damp places, then later alder swamps can form there. However, standing water is detrimental to her.

During the year, black alder quickly gains height. Mature plants can grow up to 20 m. It pleases with its flowers earlier than other trees, since they appear already in April. The situation is somewhat different with fruits that reach maturity only at the end of next spring.

Unlike other types of black alder requires special care. This variety is under protection in many countries - Moldova, Kazakhstan and certain regions of Russia. Often black alder is used to create landscape design parks and squares. It can also be used for planting along water bodies, with the aim of strengthening the banks. It copes with this task perfectly, because it has a widely branched root system.

Beauty with brown earrings

Gray alder is one of the fairly common species of the birch family. It stands out for its large size, since it can grow up to 16 m. For its planting, the banks of reservoirs and ravines are chosen, which are threatened by destruction. To obtain planting material, you can use young shoots, cuttings or seeds.

The trunk of this tree has a characteristic grey colour , leaves also look, brown earrings act as a decorative part. Therefore, when you see a tree that has these signs, know that you have an alder in front of you. Many appreciate this plant because of its ability to withstand severe frosts and grow well on the poor. nutrients soils and wetlands.

Scope of application

Alder is valued not only because of its attractive appearance, as it has a lot of other useful properties.

In the decorative arts

Alder grown from young seedlings growing pretty fast, often this leads to the appearance of wild thickets. At this stage life cycle it has a uniform wood structure, which is easy to process. Because of this, it is often used in industry.

Alder is one of the most popular materials for creating artistic carvings. It is used in the manufacture of carved dishes, decorative panels and sculptures. As a result of the processing of wood by dry distillation, coals can be obtained, which are highly valued by artists. Of particular importance in a decorative sense are specimens whose trunks are decorated with influxes.

In folk medicine

This tree is also valued as a remedy for the treatment of many diseases. Useful properties have cones, leaves and bark of alder, rich in tannins. Effective medicines are decoctions and tinctures based on alder cones and bark, since they have an astringent, anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, antibacterial and hemostatic effect.

if there is a purulent wound, then it is enough to attach a leaf of a black alder tree to it, and very soon it will heal;
vodka infusion of earrings can help people who suffer from hemorrhoids and constipation;
to combat diathesis and eczema, a decoction of flowers is used, which must be prepared at the very beginning of flowering.

You can restore the natural intestinal microflora after a course of antibiotics with a decoction of alder cones. It also helps in the treatment of diseases. gastrointestinal tract. It is often used in such conditions., how:

inflammation of the nasopharynx and throat;
cold;
angina;
pharyngitis.

In order to stop bleeding from the nose, it is useful to keep tampons from fresh leaves alder. Traditional healers recommend taking a decoction to combat gout, arthritis and joint pain.

The effective means are dry baths, which are prepared on the basis of freshly picked leaves.

they should be heated in the sun or in an oven, and then they are laid on the bed and let the patient lie down on them. You can also cover the affected areas of the body with heated alder leaves, and wrap a warm blanket on top. In this case, the effect will be maximum if such a procedure lasts at least an hour;
this remedy works even better if the leaves are heated in a deep tub, in which the patient must then be placed up to the neck. According to the same scheme, they fight ailments using birch leaves.

When visiting a bath, it is very useful to use alder brooms, which have a cleansing, disinfecting, tonic effect, and are also able to fill the body with energy.

In production

The ease of processing alder wood has led to the fact that it often used in industry. Various operations can be carried out on it, including polishing, varnishing and staining. Also, this tree retains a holistic structure when screws are screwed into it. Changes can be observed when driving nails, which is manifested in the flaking of wood.

Drying alder does not affect its properties in any way: it takes a minimum of time, and during this operation there are no defects in the form of warping or cracks. This feature has made alder one of the most preferred materials for making musical instruments and accessories for them.

Collection and preparation of cones

A favorable moment for harvesting cones comes at the end of autumn. And you can continue to collect them until March. The process of collecting cones itself has its own characteristics: first you need to carefully cut the ends of the branches with cones with secateurs, and then fruits are plucked from them. Cones that lie on the ground do not have the necessary properties, so they cannot be used. After harvesting, the cones are laid out in an even layer under a canopy or in the attic, where air must be provided, where the drying procedure is carried out. If it is warm enough outside, then you can dry the fruits in the open air, not forgetting to stir them from time to time. With proper drying, the cones retain their beneficial properties for three years.

Conclusion

Few of us are familiar with a tree like alder, and in vain. After all, it is one of the first to signal the onset of spring, starting early flowering even at the moment when all the snow has not yet melted. At this stage of its development, the tree forms beautiful earrings, which give it even more decorative properties. However, alder looks most attractive when it has cones.

Although in this case you will have to be patient, since they are formed only next spring. But alder is of interest not only because of its decorative properties, because it is often used to make effective drugs for the treatment of diseases. Wood is used in industry, because it easily tolerates different kinds processing, without being covered by any serious defects.

The alder tree is distinguished by its magnificent crown and healing qualities for the human body. Leaves and inflorescences of this breed are used in traditional medicine. They contain a large number of useful microelements that help to cope with various pathological processes.

Description of the breed

What does an alder tree look like? This breed is a tall plant up to 20 m in length. The diameter of the crown of an adult plant reaches up to 20 m. The average life expectancy is from 50 to 100 years.

How does the alder flower? In early spring it forms small earrings, the size of which reaches up to 5 cm. The female inflorescences are oval in shape and have a dense base. Men's earrings are long elements with a porous structure.

Alder leaf contains a large amount of nitrogen. It enters the venerable cover after the fall of the leaf plates in the autumn period of time. This breed prefers moist soil types. That is why it grows near rivers and large bodies of water.

The bark and inflorescences have a large number of resin passages that lure bees. This product allows them to produce excellent propolis. It is widely used in medicine.

Alder varieties

In nature, there are several varieties of alder. Each species has some differences in the composition of the bark and the color of the leaves. These include:

Black alder

It reaches up to 15 m in height. The bark of an adult plant has a characteristic dark shade. The tree feels great in moist soil. It grows rapidly and forms a large number of shoots under the main root.

The leaves are diamond-shaped and have a carved edge. Outwardly, they have a slight resemblance to hazel. As a rule, culture does not tolerate neighborhood with other tree species.

This species is most often landscaped in urban and park areas. Mature trees form a dense green crown, which helps to hide from the bright sun.

Alder gray

This breed prefers swampy areas. That is why it is widely distributed along river banks and wide lakes. An adult plant reaches up to 17 m in height. It is distinguished by its frost resistance.

The tree is propagated using short cuttings, seeds or young shoots. Leaves and trunk are pale gray. In the first year of life, frequent watering and spraying is recommended.

to plant planting material best in sunny areas. This will allow the tree to quickly form a powerful root system.

You should not plant young trees next to oak, maple and ash. This culture does not tolerate such a neighborhood. As the plants grow, they notice a slow increase in height and premature fall of the leaves.

Where is alder used?

This breed has smooth trunk and thin bark. The array lends itself to machining and factory deformation. The wood after drying is quite strong and durable. It does not split from self-tapping screws, but is vulnerable to thin metal nails.

Before use, the wood needs to be thoroughly cleaned of knots and dried. If we neglect such a requirement, then the probability of occurrence of voids inside the array increases. In the future, this will affect the performance of a wooden product.

The material is used in the manufacture of bridges, rafts and wooden ships. The massif of an alder is applied to finishing types of works. The material needs additional treatment with antifungal compounds.

Wood is used to make boxes for storing various small things and molds for casting. Branches and firewood are used as fuel. Wood has a high heat dissipation.

Wood has a beautiful texture and strength. More often, the array is used for the manufacture of furniture paraphernalia. The products are strong and durable. The surface needs additional varnish protection. This helps to emphasize the depth of textured lines and the color of the furniture.

The shavings go to the production of chipboard and MDF panels. Products are resistant to moisture. The material contains a large amount of resin. It repels harmful insects and prevents decay processes.

Alder photo

Black alder (Alnus glutinosa)

The plant reaches a height of 30 meters, the bark is dark brown, rough, covered with a network of small cracks.

Photo of black alder
Earrings. Blooms long before leaf development. Male flowers are concentrated in yellow catkins.	The leaves are folded, have the appearance of sinuous, ovate or round, solitary, long-petiolate. The edge of the leaf blade is serrated. The leaf has 5-7 pairs of veins, dark green.

Green fruit. Female inflorescences turn into a small oval cone up to 2 cm long.	Ripe fruit - cone

Varieties are very resistant to stagnant water.

Origin: Europe and Western Asia.

Photo of a black alder.

Green alder (Alnus viridis)

It is a very common shrub (rarely small tree), with dense shoots. Reaches a height of up to 4 m. Creates numerous shoots, bent in the form of a braid. Annual shoots of olive-green or red-brown color are slightly flattened, pubescent.

Photo of green alder
Earrings - male inflorescences.	Leaves - ovate or elliptical, up to 6 cm long, pointed, with double carved edges. The veins are distinctly visible, in the amount of 5-10 pairs, slightly pubescent at the corners.	The ripe fruit is a cone. The fruit is spherical or ovoid, strongly lignified, reminiscent of tiny pine cones. Contains nuts. They stay on the plant for a long time.

The buds are convex, conical, covered with 4-6 purple-brown or greenish ciliated scales, sometimes slightly sticky. The plant is monoecious (separate male and female inflorescences appear on the same plant). Before winter, the rudiments of male and female inflorescences appear on the branches, which bloom only in spring. They bloom simultaneously with the development of foliage (April-May) and are wind pollinated.

The plant grows especially abundantly along streams. Prevents erosion and strengthens slopes. Its pollen sometimes causes allergies.

Origin: Found in North America, Europe and Asia (including Siberia and Kamchatka).

She was brought from America, belongs to the birch family. The name comes from "Alnus", which in Latin means "coastal".

The article will introduce you to amazing plant, you will find out how it looks, in what forests you can meet it and where its raw materials will be used. Alder, a photo of a tree and leaves are presented below.

Shrub Description

The shrub can grow up to three meters long. Flowering begins in mid-summer, and ends in the first month of autumn. It has yellow flowers with a white sheen.

The inflorescence has a length of up to 15 cm. This is one of the most valuable varieties of trees. She brings drupes, these are her fruits. It also blooms the very first of the Russian trees in mid-spring, before the wind-pollinated leaves bloom.

The forest is still frowning, undressed, snowdrifts are melting somewhere, and from afar you can already see the reddish tree when it begins to bloom.

If you get closer, you can admire the blackened leafless branches with dangling brownish-red catkins.

Gradually, the decorations inflate and yellow clouds of pollen fill the atmosphere. Small female flowers pollinate surrounding plants, and, as a result, green cones are formed, in which seeds are born.

Why is it ahead of other trees during flowering? Here's why: the previous summer, it was preparing for the oncoming heat. In July, men's earrings are cut on the branches. Until November, they develop, and by January they fully ripen. They contain a certain amount of pollen. It remains to wait only for the first rays of the gentle star.

The female flowers look like a picture of small spikelets of the field. After pollination, as a rule, the leaves are sealed with resin, develop and change, transforming into lumps.

By September, hard lumps become thick and hang until April. Seeds grow inside them. The premature onset of spring contributes to the daily growth of earrings by three centimeters. When the scales are folded back, the flowers bloom and turn into dust.

Light contact with the jewelry forms a cloud of pollen, which releases a lot: from one earring - up to 30 mg. hallmark does not consist in the first flowering, but also in the fact that the fruits ripen in November.

Basically, such vegetation is undemanding. Likes moist, cool soil. Highly resistant to heat and wind. Winter tolerates well, loves the light. Usually propagated from seeds or cuttings.

grows on open places or in the forest. It adapts well to life with other trees: birch, spruce, oak, etc. Feels good in open areas. This is evidenced by the fruits that appear after 9 years. In places with a constant shadow, they appear only by the age of 35. Lives for over a hundred years.

Varieties

On the territory of our country you can find two types: black and gray. Each of them has its own characteristics and the following description of the species will help not to confuse.

Black - grows up to 30 m in height and up to 80 cm in diameter. Gray - often grows into a dense bush. Sometimes it is no more than 15 m high and no more than 30 cm thick.

The difference lies in the color of the bark and the shape of the leaves. The first species has dark, sticky egg-shaped leaves. In the second variety, the leaves are usually in the form of an ellipse with sharp edges.

Consider where each species grows. The black variety prevails along the wet coasts of rivers and lakes. Gray - can be seen on the withered hills. Freely occupies cuttings, wastelands, ashes.

True, the moisture and nutritional value of the soil are similar. Glued is so named because the young leaves are very sticky. And on the dilapidated trunks of black alder, dark crusts form.

Medicinal properties

The alder tree is characterized by an amazing combination of three colors at once: fiery bark, emerald leaves, dark brown branches. According to popular signs, this depicts the traditional trinity: fire, water and earth.

The black velvet light plant is perfectly cut, but has one drawback - it is too fragile. Alder - white tree however, when felled, the color will turn brown-red.

The considered vegetation is interesting for its useful properties for people and other vegetation. It fertilizes the soil with nitrogen. Its roots consist of nodule formations, hiding places for bacteria and nitrogen helpers.

Small roots, together with tree nodules, eat catfish with pleasure. This is caused by the following: the leaves fall off and throw off the various animals that the fish brothers feed on. This is a tasty place for fishermen.

Also highly rated charcoal tree. It is designed to equip anti-chemical equipment, and alder chips are also used for smoking.

The next way to use it is to get good paint. First, the bark is kept in water for two days, then filtered. If you hold the material in the solution for half an hour, it will turn brown.

People have been using this plant for medicinal purposes for a long time. Scientists studied it in 1942. Pharmaceutics has mastered the techniques of making themelin.

Doctors prescribe medicines containing alder extract for long-term stomach diseases, inflammation of the small and large intestines.

Flower earrings are usually collected in the spring. With their help, creams are made for diathesis and eczema. In the country, many grow this plant for preparations: jam from alder cones.

AT countryside people will tell you how to harvest buds and leaves for certain diseases. Can be used for stomach pain or colds. Applied with purulent-necrotic inflammation of the hair follicle.