Manchurian alder
Alnus incana subsp. hirsuta · Betulaceae · 물오리나무
Look
- Leaves
- Elliptic-ovate, (6) 8 to 10 x 5.5 to 8.5 cm, with the margin shallowly cut into 5 to 8 lobes and double teeth. The underside is grayish-white and there are 7 to 8 pairs of veins.
- Flowers
- Blooms from late March to mid-April. Male catkins grow in 3 to 5 at the branch tips, and female catkins grow in clusters of 3 to 5 just below them.
- Fruit
- Fruit spikes are usually in groups of 3 to 4, elliptic to long elliptic-ovate, turning blackish-brown when ripe; the seeds have narrow wings and mature in October.
- Bark
- Smooth and gray-brown.
Where it grows
- In Korea
- Native (Korean Peninsula)
- Native to
- Siberia, the Russian Far East, China and Japan; in the Korean Peninsula mainly along the Baekdudaegan.
- Ecology
- A sun-loving tree of mountains; young trees need plenty of sunlight. It is very tolerant of cold and drought but weak against sea wind. It acts as a pioneer of primary succession and resprouts well.