Alnus alnobetula subsp. crispa

(Aiton) Raus

Willdenowia 41: 129. 2011.

Common names: Green alder mountain alder aulne vert aulne crispé
EndemicIllustrated
Basionym: Betula crispa Aiton Hort. Kew. 2: 339. 1789
Synonyms: Alnus alnobetula var. crispa (Aiton) Winkler Alnus crispa var. elongata Raup Alnus crispa var. harricanensis Lepage Alnus crispa var. mollis (Fernald) Fernald Alnus crispa var. stragula Fernald Alnus mitchelliana M. A. Curtis ex A. Gray Alnus mollis Fernald Alnus viridis subsp. crispa (Aiton) Turrill Alnus viridis var. crispa (Aiton) House
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 3.

Shrubs, spreading or rather compact, to 3(–4) m. Bark grayish brown; lenticels pale. Leaf blade dark green, broadly to narrowly ovate or elliptic, 3.5–6(–10) × 3–5(–7) cm, leathery, base rounded, obtuse, or cuneate, sometimes nearly cordate, margins serrulate or finely serrate, apex obtuse to acute; surfaces abaxially glabrous to velutinous or occasionally tomentose, moderately to heavily resin-coated. Inflorescences: staminate catkins 2.5–9 cm. Infructescences 1.2–2 × 0.5–1.2 cm; peduncles 1–5 cm. 2n = 28.


Phenology: Flowering spring.
Habitat: Singly or in thickets along streams, lakeshores, coasts, and bog or muskeg margins, or on sandy or gravelly slopes or flats
Elevation: 0–2000 m

Distribution

V3 846-distribution-map.gif

St. Pierre and Miquelon, Greenland, Alta., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., N.H., N.Y., N.C., Pa., Tenn., Vt., Wis.

Discussion

Alnus alnobetula subsp. crispa grows across much of the continent in the far North; widely disjunct populations occur in the Appalachians in Pennsylvania and on the summit of Roan Mountain on the North Carolina–Tennessee border (R. B. Clarkson 1960; E. T. Wherry 1960).

The Cree used Alnus alnobetula subsp. crispa medicinally for the astringent qualities of the bark and to treat dropsy (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
John J. Furlow +
(Aiton) Raus +
Betula crispa +
Green alder +, mountain alder +, aulne vert +  and aulne crispé +
St. Pierre and Miquelon +, Greenland +, Alta. +, Man. +, N.B. +, Nfld. and Labr. +, N.W.T. +, N.S. +, Nunavut +, Ont. +, P.E.I. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Maine +, Mass. +, Mich. +, Minn. +, N.H. +, N.Y. +, N.C. +, Pa. +, Tenn. +, Vt. +  and Wis. +
0–2000 m +
Singly or in thickets along streams, lakeshores, coasts, and bog or muskeg margins, or on sandy or gravelly slopes or flats +
Flowering spring. +
Willdenowia +
Endemic +  and Illustrated +
Alnus alnobetula var. crispa +, Alnus crispa var. elongata +, Alnus crispa var. harricanensis +, Alnus crispa var. mollis +, Alnus crispa var. stragula +, Alnus mitchelliana +, Alnus mollis +, Alnus viridis var. crispa +  and Alnus viridis subsp. crispa +
Alnus alnobetula subsp. crispa +
Alnus alnobetula +
subspecies +