Red Alder (Alnus rubra) is also known as Pacific Coast Alder, Oregon Alder, or Western Alder. It is native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Local populations grow near the Lower Clearwater, the St. Joe, Pend Oreille, and Coeur D'alene. Red Alder provides browsing for deer and elk, and the seeds remain on the tree well into the fall and winter months, providing food for many birds and small mammals. Beavers eat the bark and build dams with the stems. It is a fast growing, single stemmed, deciduous tree. The bark is thin, smooth, and ashy-grey to greyish-brown, and often covered with white lichen as it gets older. The inner bark is reddish-brown. The leaves are alternate, dark green, simple and broadly ovate. They are 6 to 15 cm long with a pointed tip, serrated or softly lobed, and rolled under slightly. The undersides of the leaves are rusty colored and covered with fine soft hairs. The abundant seeds are wind dispersed from May to the winter months.
Height: Up to 60'
Solar Exposure: Full-sun
Bloom Color: Red catkins grow in clusters of 2-4.
Bloom Time: Catkins appear in Spring, before or with the leaves.
USDA PLANTS Database Link
Pics from USDA Plant Database: https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ALRU2