Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.

Spice Female flowers Male flowers

Family: BETULACEAE

Genus: Alnus

Catalan common name: Vern.

Spanish common name: Aliso.

Province distribution: Barcelona. Girona. Lleida. Tarragona.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Eurosiberian with a big area

Uses and properties: Furniture, construction and tools. Medicinal.

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Phanerophyte.

Habitats: River forests.

Characteristics: Alongside rivers and torrents where it usually forms forests (alderwoods). A deciduous tree that doesn't grow much taller than 25 m in height. Known for its leaves, either obtuse or margined at the apex; the margin is irregularly dentate. In addition, the female aments are ovoid (not cylindrical like the hazelnuts and birches), with woody bracts at its base upon maturation. Well abundant in the NE part of Catalonia, rarely found farther south of the Llobregat River.