Alder - Alnus glutinosa
Alders will tolerate damp conditions and are commonly found on river banks and boggy ground.
Alder leaves are deciduous, alternate, simple and serrated. The flowers are catkins with elongate male catkins on the same plant as shorter female catkins, often before leaves appear; they are mainly wind-pollinated, but also visited by bees to a small extent.
Alders grow rapidly, reaching maturity at about 60 years and living up to about 150 years.
They differ from the birches in that the female catkins are woody and do not disintegrate at maturity.
In Celtic mythology, Bran the Blessed is associated with the alder tree.
