The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Alnus rubra

Etymology

Alnus: From an old Latin name for alder
rubra: red

Common Name(s)

red alder

Authority

Alnus rubra Bong.

Family

Betulaceae

Brief Description

Deciduous tree 26–30 m tall; leaves 760–152 × 25–38 mm, coriaceous; adaxially glabrous, dark green, abaxially pale covered in fine rust-red pubescence; lamina pinnately veined (orange-reddish veins), obtuse to elliptic, base obtuse to rounded, apex acute; margins finely doubly serrate (teeth gland-tipped), sometimes revolute.

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

Habitat

Moist disturbed sites

Features

Deciduous tree 26–30 m tall, 0.3–1.2 m diam. Trunk clean with a straight bole, usually devoid of branches for one third to half of length; crown narrowly pyramidal or dome-shaped and rounded; branches ± pendulous. Bark ash-grey to grey-brown, generally smooth but breaking with age into flat, irregular plates near the base; inner bark initially tan but turning red when exposed to air. Buds distinctly stalked. Leaves 760–152 × 25–38 mm, coriaceous, adaxially glabrous, dark green; abaxially pale covered in fine rust-red pubescence; lamina pinnately veined, obtuse to elliptic, base obtuse to rounded, apex acute, margins finely doubly serrate (teeth gland-tipped), sometimes revolute.

Flower Colours

Green

Year Naturalised

1990.

Origin

Western North America

Reason for Introduction

Timber tree

This page last updated on 26 Nov 2018