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Alnus nepalensis

Common name:	Nepalese Alder	Family:	Betulaceae
Author:	D.Don.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Himalayas
Habitat:	Forests in ravines, on stream banks and occasionally in drier localities, 900 - 2700 metres in the Himalayas[146].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Nepal Alder [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fagales. Birch family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 22m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in flower from September to October. 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 1/5 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. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Bog Garden, Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic.

A useful diuretic for reducing swelling of the leg[269].
The juice of the bark is boiled and the gelatinous liquid applied to burns[272].

Other Uses

Dye Fuel Soil stabilization Wood.

The bark contains 7% tannin[240], it is used in dyeing and tanning[11, 146, 272]. It is used to deepen the red colour of madder, Rubia cordifolia[269].
A fast growing species, it is suitable for plantation cultivation in tropical uplands[269]. The tree is locally cultivated by West Java Forest Service to reforest eroded slopes under ever-wet climates[269]. The tree establishes rapidly on areas subject to landslides, binding the soil with its extensive root system and stabilizig the slope[272].
Wood - soft, tough, even grained, rather durable, easily sawn, seasons well and does not warp. It is used to a limited extent in carpentry, house construction, tea boxes, for making furniture, rope bridges etc[146, 158, 269]. A very good timber, it deserves to be more widely used[146]. In India the trees are coppiced every two years for fuel[269].

Cultivation details

Prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation[1, 11]. Grows well in heavy clay soils[11]. Succeeds in very infertile sites[200]. The Nepalese alder is reported to tolerate clay, flooding, fog, gravel, sand, shade, slope, water-logging, and weeds[269]. It is not tolerant of high winds[269].
Grows best in deep well-drained loams or loamy soils of alluvial soils, but ranges from gravel to sand to clay[269]. Prefers an annual rainfall estimated at 50 - 250cm, an annual average temperature in the range of 19 - 23° C, and a pH of 6 - 8[269].
This species is possibly only hardy in the milder areas of Britain[11].
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 - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe and only just covered[200]. Spring sown seed should also germinate successfully so long as it is not covered[200, K]. The seed should germinate in the spring as the weather warms up. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. If growth is sufficient, it is possible to plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer, otherwise keep them in pots outdoors and plant them out in the spring.
If you have sufficient quantity of seed, it can be sown thinly in an outdoor seed bed in the spring[78]. The seedlings can either be planted out into their permanent positions in the autumn/winter, or they can be allowed to grow on in the seed bed for a further season before planting them.
Cuttings of mature wood, taken as soon as the leaves fall in autumn, outdoors in sandy soil.

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.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[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
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[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.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. 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.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[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.
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