Alnus viridis
Common names
green alder
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Red/Pink, Yellow
Detailed description
Multi-stemmed shrub to about 2 m tending to layer. Broadly ovate leaves to about 7 x 6 cm with irregular serrate margins held on petioles of 1-2 cm. Male and female catkins borne separately, but on the same plant. Male catkins 3-6 cm long in clusters of up to 3 at shoot apicies. Female catkins in loose racemes of up to 6. Seed about 2 mm long, broadly ellipsoid and winged.
Similar taxa
Can easily be distinguished from the Alnus glutinosa by the shrub form. May be some hybridisation with other less common shrubby alders.
Habitat
Terrestrial. High country slopes and screes.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Flowering
October, November
Year naturalised
1988
Origin
Mountains C. & S. Europe.
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Tolerances
Can tolerate very cold and dry conditions. Can fix nitrogen via root nodules so can tolerate very low nutrient conditions.
Life cycle and dispersal
Most reproduction appears to be vegetative, although seed is produced in abundance. Dispersed by humans, gravity, wind and water.
Other information
Etymology
alnus: From an old Latin name for alder
viridis: From the Latin viridis ‘green’
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
ALNVIR