Alder / Common Alder Seed

Alder is a small bushy deciduous tree that produces pretty yellow catkins in spring, visited by early insects. Its shiny green leaves are retained late into the autumn. It has an attractive smooth dark grey bark. The cones are green to begin with but ripen to black and make subtle additions to Christmas decorations. A brilliant tree for water logged areas and very hardy so can be used as a windbreak, especially if coppiced. The timber is used in wet areas, for fencing etc. since it doesn’t rot. It can be used to make high grade charcoal.

Not for forestry purposes.