{"id":1094,"date":"2018-02-28T20:33:02","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T01:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/?p=1094"},"modified":"2020-07-20T14:39:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-20T18:39:19","slug":"smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Smooth Alder – March 2018 Wildflower of the Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Smooth<\/a>Smooth Alder (Alnus serrulata) is a multi-stemmed small tree or large shrub with shiny gray-brown bark that reaches 15 feet tall.\u00a0 Both male and female flowering structures persist through the winter.\u00a0 In winter, smooth alder can be recognized instantly by two reproductive structures.\u00a0 The small cone-like female catkins are from the female flower of the previous year while the yet-unopened catkins are of the coming year.\u00a0 The future \u201ccones\u201d that will be pollinated by the catkins are themselves still tiny in winter.<\/p>\n

In the spring the male flowers are yellow-brown drooping catkins. Alders are wind-pollinated, and release pollen before the leaves emerge. Dark green leaves have wedge-shaped bases and leaf edges are usually finely toothed.\u00a0 The glossy summer foliage becomes yellow and tinged with red in the fall.\u00a0 The reddish buds grow from the twig on short stalks, another identifying feature in the winter, since the buds are not stalked in most trees and shrubs.<\/p>\n

Alders are most important as pioneer species that stabilize and fertilize barren areas such as strip mines, clearcuts, and riverbanks.\u00a0 These small trees fix nitrogen from the air in a symbiotic relationship with bacteria in the root system, which nourishes the tree.\u00a0 As alder leaves fall, the nitrogen-rich litter quickly fertilizes barren ground. \u00a0 Many conifers have been shown to grow better in areas where alders have preceded them, so alders are often planted as the first step in reforestation.<\/p>\n

The only alder native in southeastern United States, smooth alder grows in disturbed and wet areas, commonly found at the edge of water.\u00a0 This shrub or small tree is common in eastern and central U.S. and in most counties across Virginia.<\/p>\n

Inner bark can be ground into a crude flour in an emergency.\u00a0 Deer will eat the twigs, but it is not a favorite food.<\/p>\n

By Helen Hamilton, past-president of the John Clayton Chapter, VNPS
\nPhoto:\u00a0 Smooth alder (Alnus serrulata) taken by Helen Hamilton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smooth Alder (Alnus serrulata) is a multi-stemmed small tree or large shrub with shiny gray-brown bark that reaches 15 feet tall.\u00a0 Both male and female flowering structures persist through the winter.\u00a0 In winter, smooth alder can be recognized instantly by two reproductive structures.\u00a0 The small cone-like female catkins are from the female flower of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18603,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSmooth Alder - March 2018 Wildflower of the Month - John Clayton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smooth Alder - March 2018 Wildflower of the Month - John Clayton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Smooth Alder (Alnus serrulata) is a multi-stemmed small tree or large shrub with shiny gray-brown bark that reaches 15 feet tall.\u00a0 Both male and female flowering structures persist through the winter.\u00a0 In winter, smooth alder can be recognized instantly by two reproductive structures.\u00a0 The small cone-like female catkins are from the female flower of the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Clayton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-01T01:33:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-20T18:39:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2018\/02\/Smooth-Alder-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"VNPS Communications\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"VNPS Communications\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"VNPS Communications\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/#\/schema\/person\/f733fd3e3626409fd4a4aadfa0810283\"},\"headline\":\"Smooth Alder – March 2018 Wildflower of the Month\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-01T01:33:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-20T18:39:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/\"},\"wordCount\":326,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2018\/02\/Smooth-Alder-200x300.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vnps.org\/johnclayton\/2018\/02\/28\/smooth-alder-march-wildflower-of-the-month\/\",\"name\":\"Smooth Alder - 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