Hazel Alder
Alnus serrulata
Hazel alder, or smooth alder, is a thicket-forming wetland shrub of Eastern streambanks and seeps, fixing nitrogen and armoring soil against erosion. Early catkins are among the first pollen of the year. Like other alders, the inner bark has served as a famine-food flour — but it must be dried first, since it's mildly emetic when fresh.
- Family
- Betulaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 10–20 ft
- Spacing
- 8–15 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- moist, wet
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral
- Bloom
- March, April
- Bloom colors
- red, green, brown
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, pollinators, songbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~255 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing, rain garden
- Native states
- AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WV