Native Plants

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Alnus incana ssp. rugosa

Alnus incana (L.) Moench ssp. rugosa (Du Roi) R.T. Clausen

Speckled Alder, Gray Alder, Hoary Alder, Swamp Alder

Betulaceae (Birch Family)

Synonym(s): Alnus incana var. americana, Alnus rugosa, Alnus rugosa var. americana

USDA Symbol: ALINR

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N), SPM (N)

A low and clump-forming shrub; sometimes a small tree. Height: 20 to 30 feet.

The Latin subspecies name, meaning "rugose" or "wrinkled," refers to the network of sunken veins prominent on the lower leaf surfaces

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub , Tree
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Venation: Pinnate
Breeding System: Flowers Unisexual , Monoecious
Fruit Type: Samara
Size Notes: Height: 6-9 meters. The eastern subspecies, Alnus incana ssp. rugosa, grows as a large shrub and may reach 9 meters in height.
Leaf: Dark Green.
Fruit: Green.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow , Green , Brown
Bloom Time: Apr , May

Distribution

USA: CT , IA , IL , IN , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , ND , NH , NJ , NY , OH , PA , RI , VA , VT , WI , WV
Canada: MB , NB , NL , NS , ON , PE , QC , SK
Native Distribution: Northeastern US and eastern Canada, south to Virginia and west to North Dakota and Saskatchewan. (webref:27).
Native Habitat: "Stream banks, lake shores, bogs, swamps, margins of wet fields, swales, and roadsides, often forming dense thickets; 0--800 m." (webref:38).

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade , Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist
CaCO3 Tolerance: Medium
Conditions Comments: Nitrogen fixing using root nodules

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Planted as an ornamental at water edges.
Use Wildlife: Alder thickets provide cover for wildlife, browse for deer and moose.
Use Medicinal: Bark was boiled to make medicinal teas for treating rheumatism. It was also applied to wounds as a poultice to reducing bleeding and swelling.
Use Other: Inuit people and settlers extracted a dark dye from the bark for tanning and staining hides.
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: Green Comma butterfly

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Green Comma
(Polygonia faunus)

Larval Host

Learn more at BAMONA

Bibliography

Bibref 1186 - Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2005) Covell, C.V., Jr.
Bibref 1185 - Field Guide to Western Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides) (1999) Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright
Bibref 841 - Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants (2006) Burrell, C. C.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 27 - USDA Plants Database (2018) USDA, NRCS.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Alnus incana ssp. rugosa in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Alnus incana ssp. rugosa in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Alnus incana ssp. rugosa

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-09-30
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back