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Alnus sinuata

Common name:	Sitka Alder	Family:	Betulaceae
Author:	(Regel.)Rydb.	Botanical references:	11, 60, 200
Synonyms:	Alnus viridis sinuata ((Regel.)Love.&Love.)
Known Hazards:	The freshly harvested inner bark is emetic but is alright once it has been dried[172].
Range:	Western N. America - Alaska to California - east to Idaho and Montana.
Habitat:	Moist woods, stream banks, margins of ponds, to open but moist montane slopes at or near the timber line[60].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. alnobetula[B,P] A. crispa ssp. laciniata[B,P] A. crispa ssp. sinuata[B,P] A. crispa subsp. sinuata[G] A. sitchensis[G] A. viridis ssp. sinuata[B,C,CAL,P] A. viridis subsp. sinuata[G] A. viridis var. sinuata[B,G,P] Duschekia sinuata[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Sitka Alder [FEIS,P,DEN1],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fagales. Birch family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 4m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 2. It is in flower from April to June, and the seeds ripen from July to August. 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 2/5 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, Secondary.

Edible Uses

Flowers.

Catkins - raw or cooked. A bitter flavour[172].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Emetic; Haemostatic; Stomachic; Tonic.

The bark is astringent, emetic, haemostatic, stomachic and tonic[172].

Other Uses

Fuel; Pioneer; Soil stabilization; Tannin; Wood.

This is an excellent pioneer species for re-establishing woodlands on disused farmland, difficult sites etc[226]. Its fast rate of growth means that it quickly provides sheltered conditions to allow more permanent woodland trees to become established. In addition, bacteria on the roots fix atmospheric nitrogen - whilst this enables the tree to grow well in quite poor soils it also makes some of this nitrogen available to other plants growing nearby. Alder trees also have a heavy leaf canopy and when the leaves fall in the autumn they help to build up the humus content of the soil. Alder seedlings do not compete well in shady woodland conditions and so this species gradually dies out as the other trees become established[K].
The bark and the strobils are a source of tannin[82].
The tree has an extensive root system and can be planted to control banks from erosion[226, 229].
Wood - soft, straight-grained, very durable in water[82]. The tree is too small to be of use as a source of lumber, but the wood is used locally for fuel[226, 229].

Cultivation details

Prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation[1, 11]. Grows well in heavy clay soils[11]. Tolerates very infertile sites[200].
This species is closely related to A. viridis and is included as a sub-species of A. viridis by many botanists[11].
A fast-growing but short-lived species, rarely living longer than 50 years[229]. It is a pioneer species of logged or burnt land, often forming dense thickets in low wet areas[229].
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

[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.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata (a possible synonym).

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Alnus viridis subsp. sinuata (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic 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.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[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.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

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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