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Alnus maritima

Common name:	Seaside Alder	Family:	Betulaceae
Author:	(Marsh.)Muhlenb.	Botanical references:	82, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern and Central N. America - Delaware and Oklahoma.
Habitat:	Banks of streams and ponds[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. maritima ssp. metoporina[B,P] A. maritima var. metoporina[B,P] A. metoporina[B,P] Betula-[P] Betula-Alnus maritima[B,G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Seaside Alder [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	maritima = on the sea-coast;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fagales. Birch family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 9m. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from September to October, and the seeds ripen in May. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Biomass; Wood.

This species has the potential to be used as a biomass crop[269].
Wood - light, soft, close-grained. Light brown in colour with thick, hardly distinguishable heartwood[82].

Cultivation details

Prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation, but it succeeds in ordinary garden soil[11]. Grows well in heavy clay soils[11]. Tolerates very infertile sites[200]. Trees are tolerant of frost, poor soil, and some salinity and water-logging[269].
Seaside alder is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 95 to 400cm, an average annual temperature of 13. 5 to 18°C, and a pH in the range of 6. 1 to 8. 1[269].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil micro-organisms, these form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].

Propagation

Seed -

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HEC] Use, Folk Medicine, etc. from Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke

References for the family Betulaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Alnus+maritima
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.