Idaho leaf guide with pictures series#

You can distinguish these two trees by their leaves.

Tree types grow 40 to 80 feet (12-24 m.) tall, and include the red and white alders. The different types of alder trees include tall trees with single trunks and much shorter, multi-stemmed specimens that can be grown as shrubs. The foliage remains green until it drops from the tree in fall.

Idaho leaf guide with pictures series#

A central vein runs down the center of the leaf and a series of side veins run from the central vein to the outer edge, angled toward the leaf tip. The egg-shaped leaves have serrated edges and distinct veins. Leaves provide another method of alder tree identification. Once the leaves are gone, they add subtle grace and beauty to the tree, softening the appearance of the bare branches. The female flowers on an alder tree stand upright at the ends of the twigs, while the male catkins are longer and hang down. Strobiles remain on the tree until the following spring, and the small, nutlike seeds they contain supply winter food for birds and small mammals. They appear in fall and look like 1 inch (2.5 cm.) long cones. The easiest way of recognizing an alder tree is by its distinctive little fruiting body, called a strobile.

Alders have several distinctive features that keep them interesting throughout the year. Nurseries that cater to home gardeners rarely offer them for sale, but when you can find them, these handsome plants make excellent shade trees and screening shrubs. Alder trees ( Alnus spp.) are often used in re-forestation projects and to stabilize soil in wet areas, but you seldom see them in residential landscapes.