Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Alnus serrulata
FAMILY
Betulaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Tag Alder at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Alnus serrulata
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-01-002:
Alnus serrulata
FAMILY
Betulaceae
COMMON NAME:
Tag Alder, Hazel Alder, Smooth Alder
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_alse2_003_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0401d_37
January Greenville County SC
Roadside/creekside
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_alnus_serrulata_2
February
Bark frequently fluted and twisted, similar to that of Carpinus caroliniana, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
COMPARE
bark of American Hornbeam and Tag Alder
)
Gill Newberry gn03_a_serrulata_female
March
Female flowers reddish.
)
Gill Newberry gn03_a_serrulata_malecatk
March
Male catkins longer than female catkins, pendent, each one stalked, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge.
)
Gill Newberry gn03_a_serrulata_oldcones
March
Fruit: Narrowly winged nutlets in persistent semi-woody conelike structures, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
Gill Newberry gn03_a_serrulata_plant
March
)
JK Marlow jkm0503a_02
March Greenville County SC
Paris Mountain State Park
Persistent inflorescences and fruit cones make this not easily confused, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm0307c_18
July Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0407b_32
July Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Principal leaves are broadest at or beyond the middle, per Trees of the Southeastern United States.
)
JK Marlow jkm090725_038
July Jackson County NC
Western Carolina University
Leaves stipulate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
)
JK Marlow jkm090725_039
July Jackson County NC
Western Carolina University
Leaf margins finely toothed and occasionally slightly wavy, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm120704_553
July Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Leaves straight-veined, petiolate; apex acute or rounded; base widely cuneate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
COMPARE
leaves of Hazel Alder, Hazelnut, Witch Hazel and Witch-alder
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_alnus_serrulata_4
July
)
JK Marlow jkm0308e_27
August Greenville County SC
Pistillate flowers borne in erect, short, ovoid, cone-like spikes, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm0309b_10
September Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow s020924_a
September Greenville County SC
Furman University
)
JK Marlow jkm0310d_30
October Greenville County SC
Roadside/creekside
Male catkins are conspicuous in winter, and pendulous, per Trees of the Southeastern United States.
)
Keith Bradley kab_alnus_serrulata_7842
October Sumter County SC
Mill Creek Park
)
Keith Bradley kab_alnus_serrulata_7847
October Sumter County SC
Mill Creek Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_serrulata_cnc_1
November
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Alnus serrulata
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Alnus serrulata
FAMILY
Betulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 054-01-002:
Alnus serrulata
FAMILY
Betulaceae
60
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Common
Look for it in streambanks, bogs, wet thickets, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Wet
...Moist
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
Leaves are subtended by stipules.
FLOWER:
Spring
Unisexual
Staminate calyx 4-parted, pistillate calyx absent
Petals absent in pistillate flowers
4 stamens in staminate flowers
Inferior ovary
Flowers in catkins (staminate catkins elongate)
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Nut
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South p061
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p236
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p115
- Landscaping with Native Trees p057
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast p055
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p086
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p267
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry p108
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p051
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge p37
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p269
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p054
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region p285